Past Redemption
by senshinurse
Summary: Sailor Moon and Sailor V have been a best friend/crime fighting duo for two years. What happens when they are asked to track down the other senshi? And what's the deal with Tuxedo Kamen? And why are these creeps always attacking, anyway? As Usagi's dreams start getting weirder and weirder, things start to unfold that leave the senshi eternally changed.
1. 0 - A Note of Caution

This is a twist on the first season arc. I always felt like Sailor Venus got the least screen time in the anime, which was pretty lame, considering her status as leader of the senshi. In this version, her and Usagi are still the first to awaken at fourteen, and they fight side by side for two years before any of the other Sailor Soldiers come on the scene. To set a few things straight – I use the Japanese names. I am a fan of the manga, and while the DIC dub of the anime will always hold a special place in my heart as my first exposure to Sailor Moon, I think the new VIZ dub is brilliant. And I've already watched through all 23 episodes on hulu… hopefully they release the next set soon! Any changes I make to the original story line/original characters created by Naoko Takeuchi are decisions and not mistakes. So don't be like "ahhh, Sailor Venus' should have a tiara!" or "Nephrite's coat is lined with yellow, not green!" Because I will ignore you. Also I think Tuxedo Kamen's top hat looks ridiculous, so in my version he doesn't wear it. You're welcome.

Just a few notes…

-Like in the Manga, Sailor Moon & Venus wear masks. And because, why not, so do the other three.

-Also like the manga, Usagi's hair is silver-blonde, not bright yellow.

-Some things will follow closely to the manga storyline, some will be like the anime, some will be completely different.

-Thanks to Sailor Moon, I was very confused about the planets as a nine year old… particularly Mars and Mercury. Mars had fire and Mercury had ice, so Mars must be the closest one to the sun and super hot, with Mercury farther from the sun and very cold, right? Wrong. So wrong. And I have my third grade planets test to prove it. Anyway, oh well. I'm over it.

-I never realized the signs of each of the girls were alchemy signs! Way cool. So the shitennou also get alchemy signs. What, you say? Don't worry, you'll understand later.

-My autocorrect has a knack for correcting Usagi to Usage… I think I caught all of them, but if one slipped in there… well, I tried. This thing has a mind of it's own.

-My Tuxedo Kamen does not throw roses or spin a cane. That is purely from the anime, and I think it's lame. I find him relatively useless in the anime and much more cold to Usagi… he is way more awesome in the manga! Besides, manga Mamoru would have never pulled that Twilight-esque 2nd season break-up on manga Usagi.

-Sailor Venus in the anime is basically a supporting character… it's a crime. In the manga she is such a badass, stabbing Beryl, and wielding the sword, kicking people left right and center…

-I hated Zoicite for years, because of how irritating "she" was in the DIC dub. Once I read the manga and saw the Viz dub… Zoicite could be alright, I guess. That laugh in the DIC dub though… shudder.

-My Sailor Senshi's uniforms are slightly different then what one might expect. I love to draw though! I will find a way somehow to upload images if anyone's curious to see how I picture them.

Thanks :)


	2. 1 - Late Again

Just in case anyone wasn't sure, I don't own either the Sailor Moon Manga or Anime. If I did I wouldn't be busting my ass to work 20 hours overtime at the hospital every week, trust me.

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><p>"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Usagi screamed, clasping her hands over her mouth as she leapt out of bed and raced around the bedroom.<p>

"Luna!" She shrieked, rubbing her elbow as she smacked it into the corner of the dresser. "I can't believe you didn't wake me up!"

"I _did_," the violet cat yawned, stretching languidly on Usagi's pink comforter. "Several times."

"Well try harder next time!"

She pulled her long-sleeved uniform top over her head, hastily tying the bow at her chest. She hopped into her deep navy pleated skirt, tying the dark blue bow in the back while she searched around the cluttered room for her black shoes. Her navy cuffs and sailor collar were lined with red.

"You know, considering _Sailor Moon_ can blast a youma to dust, you'd think _Usagi Tsukino _would be able to do something as simple as wake up in the morn – are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" Luna huffed as Usagi secured a bright pink heart shaped compact to the front of her bow, running her finger across the sideways crescent moon on the front.

"Not even a little!" She shot back, running out of the room before Luna could scold her anymore.

"Usagi, you're going to be late again! Honestly, it can't be healthy for a girl your age to sleep so much! If you'd put as much time into your study schedule as you did into your sleep schedule –"

"Fascinating, mom, but I'm going to be late if I stand here and talk any longer!" She grabbed the piece of toast from her mom's hand and tossed her lunch unceremoniously into her bag.

"See you later!"

"Usagi if you don't bring home at _least_ a 75% on your math test –"

Math test?!

_Oops_, she sighed, closing the door behind her and gearing up for her morning sprint to school. Honestly, between her mother and Luna nobody would cut her a break. You'd think Luna at least, knowing Usagi spent most her nights moonlighting as a masked superhero, would cut her some slack.

Moonlighting? Sometimes she cracked herself up.

The morning air was crisp, summer already a distant memory as the colder tones of fall started to settle in. The Japanese maple trees that lined her street were beginning to change color, brilliant oranges, reds, and yellows setting fire to otherwise dull suburban scenery.

"Hi Usagi!" The breathless voice of her best friend and fellow masked superhero caught her attention as Minako sprinted up beside her.

Her uniform was identical to Usagi's except for the crescent compact at her chest and the large red bow in her hair. She had worn a red bow for as long as Usagi could remember, the cherry color vibrant against her lemon yellow hair.

"Does Artemis give you as much crap in the morning as Luna gives me?" She grumbled in response, taking a hasty bite of the toast in her hand.

"Are you kidding?" Mina pointed to her upper arm, where one clean scratch stuck out against her pale skin. "He can be such a jerk sometimes!"

"You know, considering we're the ones that feed them on a regular basis –"

"Hey, Usagi watch ou –"

Ooph! Usagi collided into something hard, her breakfast flying out of her hand as she fell backwards, landing hard on the ground.

"Ow! What the hell, odango?"

"I'm so sor – oh, it's just you," she pouted, trying to brush the dirt and leaves from her skirt. "Thanks to _you_ I just lost my breakfast!"

He snorted, checking his carefully rolled sleeves as he stood, not even bothering to help her up. Mamoru Chiba ran a hand through his dark hair, casting a look of annoyance at her as she stood, hands on her hips. Why their paths always seemed to intersect, he didn't know, but every time they did it was in an

"I'm sure you'll survive without it for one day. In fact, it might even do you some good!"

She glared at him, poking her finger in the middle of his muscular chest.

Muscular? What was she talking about? Mamoru wasn't… oh whatever.

"And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean? God, you are such a baka –"

She was cut off by the sound of bells and Minako gasping and grabbing her hand.

"Usagi! We're going to be so late, come on!"

She paused to stick her tongue out at Mamoru before letting Minako drag her towards the school building.

"Bye, odango atama! Study hard!"

"He is such a jerk!" She fumed, the pair barely making it into math before the final bell rang and narrowly avoiding another tardy slip. "I swear, sometimes I wish I could turn _him_ into moon dust!"

Minako giggled, pulling her stuff out of her bag and placing it on the tabletop her and Usagi shared. She flipped her book to the page number Haruna had scribbled across the blackboard, reaching over to do the same to Usagi's book.

"You say that, but then you wouldn't have anyone to flirt with every morning!" She shot back, giggling again as Usagi pushed her shoulder.

"Flirt!? As if. You're clearly sleep deprived and spouting nonsense again."

"And _you're_ clearly sleep deprived if you think I don't notice the way your heart speeds up every time you run – literally – into him! I _am_ the solider of Venus, the planet of loo-oove after all!"

"It speeds up because I'm running obviously! Cardio does that!"

"Mmmhm, so does loo-ooveeee…"

"I only have eyes for Tuxedo Kamen," Usagi sniffed, glancing to her book and pretending to be seriously fascinated in… whatever the page was explaining. Something about geometry. Or algebra. Or something.

"Yeah, but even _you_ have to admit Mamoru's good looking," Mina smirked, adjusting the large red bow perched at the crown of her head. "With that jet-black hair, and those deep blue eyes. And he obviously works out you know, I mean you don't have a figure like that from just sitting around all day. And he's smart, too! You know he goes to Azubu Prep –"

"Miss Tsukino, Miss Aino, is there something so fascinating about the quadratic equation that you two would like to share with the class? Because I can't imagine what else would be taking up so much of your attention during a math lesson."

"Err, no, Ms. Haruna," Minako replied, cheeks flushing pink. "Usagi was just asking for help… I was just trying to explain it to her but, you know how it goes!"

Usagi glared at her friend, kicking her swiftly under the table. Minako yelped, glaring back.

"God help us all if Miss Aino is explaining math problems," she replied sarcastically, Minako placing her hand on her chest and feigning a look of shock. "Pay attention – I don't want to hear another word out of the two of you for the rest of the day!"

The school day passed painfully slow, Usagi giving up on her decision to never speak to Minako again after an hour out of sheer boredom. She had felt okay about the math test, however 3 questions she had completely guessed on. Getting above a 75% would be a miracle.

When the last bell of the day rang, Usagi and Minako ran out of there as quickly as possible, snatching their tests from the back table on the way out.

Usagi's heart sank, her shoulders slumping as she read the bright red score written across the top.

"Ugh, I swear to god I'll never survive high school," Usagi sighed, clutching her test in her hand. 70%... her mom was going to kill her. At this rate she shouldn't even bother coming home ever again. She'd have to live on the street, begging for food, struggling to find a warm place to sleep each night…

Obviously this test needed to disappear.

"Mina, trade tests with me!" She begged, reaching for hers. Minako snatched the paper away, Usagi trying to reach across her for it. "C'mon! My mom will kick me out and I'll have to live on the streets!"

"Well maybe next time you should stud – hey!"

"68%!? You did worse then I did!" Usagi gasped, sounding more hopeful than before.

"Rub it in, why don't you. Maybe if I hadn't been stuck trying to save your butt last night when you got pinned by that dumb youma –"

"Well maybe if you'd been paying attention in the first place instead of staring at Motoki when the stupid youma attacked I wouldn't have been pinned in the first place."

"Well maybe – whatever. You think he knew I was looking at him?" Mina blushed, suddenly fascinated with the clasp of her shoulder bag.

"I don't know… is he blind?" She teased, laughing as her best friend pushed her shoulder lightly.

Sighing, she turned her attention back to the test in her hand, promptly crumpling it into a ball and tossing it over her shoulder. No need in hanging onto that thing. She'd just say she lost it…

"Hey!" An all too familiar voice yelled, causing her to stop in place and smack her hand to her forehead. Honestly, did he always have to show up at the very worst of times?!

"Er… just give me that back!" she yelled, jumping up on tiptoe to try to grab the test out of his hand as he uncrumpled it.

"70%?!"

"Hey! Mina got a 68!" She shot back.

"Hey!"

"Man, aren't you two just the overachievers of the high school," he replied sarcastically, pocketing her test.

"And just what do you think you're doing with that!?" Usagi glared, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well it'll serve as good motivation to remind me how _not_ to score on tests, odango. Feel free to throw yours in there too, Minako!"

The two blondes converged on him, hands on their hips and eyes shining with anger.

"You. Are. Such. A. JERK!" Usagi yelled, stomping on his foot.

They both stuck out their tongues at him as he rolled his eyes at their childish display. He was a nice guy, but something about Usagi always brought out the worst in him. Mina tossed her hair over her shoulder as she turned, linking her arm through Usagi's as they stormed off.

"And just think, _you_ called him attractive!" He heard Usagi retort, smirking to himself.

"Even _you_ have to admit he is, even if he is a jerk!"

"Hmph. Never in a hundred million thousand hundred –"

"You already said hundred," he drawled, the two girls stopping in their tracks, unaware that he had still been behind them.

"Can't you just go bother someone else!?" Usagi cried exasperatedly.

Mamoru paused, as if seriously contemplating what she was saying. "Nah, odango, it's too fun bothering you."

"Oooh! Honestly, Mamoru, sometimes I wish –"

She was cut off by the sound of beeping from both hers and Mina's wrist watches, their faces paling. Three short beeps was Luna's sign that she'd picked up on weird energy, which usually meant an attack. As much as she wanted to tell Mamoru exactly what she thought about him, they had more important business to attend to.

Energy sucking, people killing, creepy looking youma business.

"Er, well as fun as this is, we have to go. Right now. Bye!" She said quickly, grabbing Minako's hand as the two of them dashed away from him. They had to find a deserted place to transform and determine the location of the attack.

_Strange_, Mamoru thought, shrugging his shoulders before continuing towards his apartment building. He'd never admit it in a million years but running into her was often the highlight of his typically monotonous days.

It definitely beat – he stumbled, clutching the wall beside him as a splitting migraine took over his head.


	3. 2 - Cherry Blossoms and Fibulas

I had wanted to post this yesterday… but I worked a 14 hour shift and by the time I got home I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open.

Just in case anyone wasn't sure, I don't own either the Sailor Moon Manga or Anime. Just borrowing her characters ;)

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><p>"Moon prism power –"<p>

"Venus love power –"

"MAKEUP!" They yelled simultaneously, tossing their compacts into the air. The deserted alleyway was filled with bright pink and orange light as the girls crossed their hands over their chests and tilted their heads back. Magenta ribbons wrapped around Usagi, while orange wound their way around Minako, erasing their school uniforms and giving way to their Senshi uniforms.

Magenta boots covered Usagi's legs, ending in an inverted v at her knees, crescent moons on the tips. Her pleated skit hit barely mid-thigh, pale pink fading into bright pink, yellow, and then navy blue at the hem. A v-shaped belt with a bright pink heart and crescent moon hung low on her hips, ending in an oversized pale pink bow extending from her lower back, the gauzy tendrils fluttering behind her. Her compact settled onto the large navy blue bow at her chest, a dark blue sailor collar with pink stripes fanning across her upper back. Pale pink protectors extended from her shoulders and three pink rings wrapped around the top of her gloves. Three feather ornaments were placed on each side of her part, magenta circles covering her odango's. A sideways crescent moon was visible through the heart shaped part in her bangs, and a magenta chocker with a crescent moon wrapped around her neck.

Minako's skirt fanned over her thighs in three layers, dark orange that faded to lighter orange to yellow, an oversized navy blue bow extending over her lower back. Her three layered shoulder protectors were translucent orange, and three bright orange rings lined the top of her gloves. Her crescent compact settled in the middle of the navy blue bow at her chest, an orange sailor collar with white stripes covering her upper back. Her characteristic red bow remained in her bright yellow hair, bangs parting as glittering sideways crescent moon etched itself onto her forehead. A chain of thin red and gold hearts hung low on her hips.

Both girls wore wing-tipped masks, Venus' bright red and Usagi's light pink. The masks served to hide their identities as well as provide information about what was attacking and where.

Minako squeezed the tip of the mask between her thumb and index finger, focusing. Lush green and cherry blossom trees filled the right window of her mask, the normally tranquil setting of Juuban Park interrupted by a disturbance.

"It's looks like… a skeleton?" Usagi paled, looking to Minako with wide eyes. "Ew, creepy."

"Seriously. There's people everywhere… it looks like little kids, too!" Minako's eyebrows scrunched in determination as she held out her hands. "Let's go!"

Usagi took Minako's hands in hers, eyelids fluttering shut as she focused on the location that had been visible in her mask just moments before.

"Moon prism power –"

"Venus love power –"

"Transport," they murmured in unison, fingers laced tightly together as a strong rush of air spiraled around them. Usagi drew in a sharp breath as the wind rushed in her ears, trying to ignore the overwhelming sense of being pulled through a vacuum. Her whole body glowed bright pink, meshing with the bright orange light of Minako as they disappeared from the alleyway.

It was over as quickly as it had begun, both girls stumbling slightly as they materialized near the Rose Garden fountain in the park. While their transporting abilities were definitely improved from when they first started – ending up in a very shocked families living room once, for example – they still were a little clumsy with their landings.

Usagi paused to take in the scene before her. Amidst the fallen cherry blossoms, pale children with blank eyes lay in scattered groups, faces frozen in various stages of fear. She knelt beside a small blonde, no older than six or seven, with her hair twisted up into two odango's, a Sailor Moon lunch box clutched tightly in her hands. This was the part she hated, the innocent people that got dragged into these attacks. It was the thing that compelled her to fight, however much she initially had disliked the idea.

A blood-curdling scream snapped her from her thoughts – she was wasting time by lingering. If they did their job right, everyone would be okay. She leapt to her feet, tearing after Minako in the direction of the scream.

A woman collapsed to the ground, a soft pink ball of energy pulled from her chest by a grey skeleton, disappearing into its palm.

"Stop right there!" Minako demanded, hands on her hips in a defensive stance.

"For Love and Justice, I am the pretty sailor suited soldier Sailor Moon! In the name of the moon I will punish you!"

"I am the Agent of Love and Beauty, the pretty sailor suited soldier Sailor Venus! In the name of Love, I will punish you!"

The two girls stood back to back, their poses mirrors of each other. The skeletal youma turned slowly, red orbs glowing in its orbital sockets.

"Oh really? I'm so scared, really. Chilled to the _bone_," it replied in a voice that sent shivers down Usagi's spine, eyes burning.

It reached forward, pulling one of the glowing orbs from its eye socket and hurled it towards them with perfect aim, the girls just barely diving out of its trajectory.

"Ahhhh!" Usagi shrieked, hitting the ground hard. She grimaced as she glanced down at her freshly skinned knees. A charred circle sizzled where they had been standing just moments before.

"What a jerk!" Minako glared, jumping back up to her feet. "Hey, bonehead! How about a taste of this!" She unclasped her compact, pressing it to her forehead. The yellow crescent on her forehead glowed, powering the crescent-shaped compact in her gloved hand.

"Crescent beam shower!" she called out, dozens of crescent moons pouring out of the compact and slicing across the skeleton. It fell into a heap of bones, Sailor Venus cheering before holding her hand out to Sailor Moon to help her up.

"And _that_, my friend, is how it's done!" She smirked triumphantly. Usagi huffed, brushing off the front of her skirt. So she ended up with scraped knees while Minako got all the glory?

"Whatever, I was two seconds away from moon dusting it!"

"It's okay, you don't have to lie on my behalf."

"Oh puh-_lease_!"

As the two bickered, the bones started to glow, rebuilding the youma they both thought to be gone.

"Is not, is not, is not!" Usagi yelled, stomping her pink boot.

"Is too, is too, is too!" Mina shouted back, stamping an orange heel into the ground and sticking out her tongue.

"Is not, is no – look out!" Usagi yelled, wrapping an arm around Minako's waist to pull both of them out of the way of the skeleton's attack. It had boomeranged a fibula or tibia or… she really needed to pay better attention in Science. Some sort of arm bone… maybe an ulna?

_Focus Usagi!_

The boomerang ulna/fibula/tibia grazed the side of Mina's arm, leaving a gash that put Artemis' scratch to shame.

"Hey, you creep! You hurt my friend and for that, you will pay! Eep!" She dodged another flying bone, not even bothering to try to figure out what it was. The youma raised its other hand, calling both bones back and reassembling itself.

"Sailor Moon kick!" She hollered, jumping up and aiming her pink boot straight at the things face.

It reached out and grabbed her ankle, tossing her easily off to the side. She landed hard and rolled, gasping as a sharp pain spread across her upper arm, a bone bouncing beside her moments later.

"Crescent beam!" bright laser beams shot from Mina's index finger, the monster deflecting the attack easily and sending it straight towards Usagi.

"Sailor Moon!" Minako yelled in warning, pressing her hand to her mouth in horror.

Usagi closed her eyes, readying herself for the inevitable pain. There was a flash of red, and suddenly muscular arms had wrapped under her knees and around her shoulders.

She sighed, snuggling against his warm chest as he jumped out of harms way in the nick of time. He set her down gently, placing his gloved hands on her arms to steady her.

Easily a foot taller than her, Tuxedo Kamen was the most handsome guy she had ever met. He was striking in his fitted black tuxedo, a gold star medallion hanging between the collar of his crisp white shirt. A simple white mask covered his midnight blue eyes, hiding his identity the same way hers and Sailor V's did.

"Tuxedo Kamen," she sighed, steadying herself with her hands against his chest.

"Ahem! A little help down here!" Minako's voice interrupted, frustration clearly present in her tone.

"Right!" With Tuxedo Kamen's hand on her shoulder she was able to ignore her injuries, unclipping her compact and holding it to her forehead. It glowed white, shifting form into a shining crescent moon.

"Lunar boomerang!" she held it close to her before extending her arm, sending it flying at the youma like a frisbee.

The disk picked up speed, hurtling towards the skeleton before slicing across it's middle, the skeleton shrieking before exploding into dozens of soft pink orbs.

"Ooh!" She gasped before collapsing, Tuxedo Kamen catching her in his arms again.

"Sailor Moon!" He yelled out, Venus running over to join them.

"She got pretty beat up before you got here," Minako began in an accusatory tone.

"I got here as soon as I could," he answered flatly, eyes on the silver-blonde head resting against his upper arm.

"Yeah, just in time to swoop in and save the day," she muttered, wiping the blood from her own arm.

He sighed, kneeling down and laying her gently on the ground, her head in his lap. There was a large gash across her deltoid, the crimson blood running down her arm and staining her white glove. Closing his eyes, Tuxedo Kamen removed his glove and placed his hand over her injury, focusing all of his energy on the gash there. Gold outlined his fingers, tiny threads knitting the wound closed. They glowed briefly before disappearing, the wound edges invisibly approximated. Satisfied with his work, he waved his hand briefly across her closed eyes, her long lashes fluttering before opening slightly.

"Ow," she muttered, rubbing her forehead. She took a deep breath, savoring the moment of closeness. He smelled like roses, sun, and peppermint, body warm against hers.

"You got a pretty nasty gash to your arm." His tone was matter of fact, hands gently pulling her to her feet. She stared at him with dreamy eyes, hanging onto his every word.

He looked at her sternly then, midnight blue eyes cold. "You need to be more careful. You can't just assume I'm going to show up at the right moment every time to save you!"

"Right," Usagi looked down, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment. "I… I'll try harder."

His gaze softened momentarily as he placed his hands on her upper arms, gripping her tenderly. Their eyes met through the haze of their masks, midnight blue on cerulean for a moment before he straightened up, the distant look back on his face.

"Well, until next time," he sighed, jumping to the nearest rooftop in a fluid motion.

"He's so –" the two girls started in unison.

"Rude!"

"Romantic," Usagi sighed, clutching her hands together. The pink orbs had one by one returned to their rightful owners, color slowly returning to the victim's faces.

Minako started to pull her away but she paused, kneeling again before the small girl with odango buns like hers.

"Hey," she whispered, the girls sleepy eyes widening with recognition. "I like your hair."

The smile that lit up her face was enough to reiterate her purpose, the reason she was a soldier of justice and had to fight tirelessly. She blew a kiss, following Minako to a deserted area of the park.

Once out of sight they waved their hands across their compacts, powering down back to their school uniforms. Usagi groaned as she took in her scraped knees and bruised arms, pulling aside her sleeve to check out why her arm hurt so much.

"Geez, I swear those creeps get stronger with each stupid energy sucking youma they send," Minako groaned, appraising the sizable gash on her arm and the scrapes on her own knees.

"I know. What do you think they want anyway? These aren't the dumb monsters we first faced… these are much stronger," Usagi sighed, her stomach grumbling.

"I have no idea. The only thing I know is that I'm starving."

She nodded in agreement, clutching her own stomach as it grumbled.

"Let's get some food. The longer I can avoid going home, the longer I live to see another day," she sighed dramatically. Even the adrenaline rush of a victory couldn't erase her dismal exam score from her memory.

They collapsed into counter stools at the Crown Arcade, Minako gazing starry eyed at Motoki as he helped another customer.

"I mean, he's just so…"

"Yum!"

"Right? That's what I was going to say."

"Not him," Usagi sighed, shaking her head. "The plate of fries he's bringing over."

"How are my two favorite girls?" he greeted them with a warm smile, setting down the huge plate of French fries and strawberry milkshakes in front of the love-struck blondes.

They answered by grabbing at the fries, stuffing several in their mouths. He laughed while glancing at the two of them, eyes knitting in worry as he noticed the huge gash on Minako's arm and Usagi's scraped elbows.

"What happened to you two? Fighting evil or something?" he teased lightly, stealing a French fry from the plate before Usagi could swat his hand away.

"You have _no_ idea…"


	4. 3 - Destinies and Sundaes

I don't own the Sailor Moon manga or anime. I know, you're shocked. I fixed a mistake I made in chapter 2 – Minako is supposed to have a crescent moon on her forehead like Usagi, not the sign of Venus.

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><p>Finally the weekend; Usagi could sleep as late as she wanted, do whatever she wanted, and the best part was that she had no homework since exams had been on Friday.<p>

When she could no longer ignore the grumbling of her stomach, she stretched her arms over her head, glancing sleepily towards the clock. It was after twelve… no wonder she was so hungry!

"Moooom," she called out in a sing-song voice, running down the stairs. "I hope there's food! I am starving!"

"Oh, Usagi there you are!" Her mother greeted her from the kitchen, beaming. "This nice young man just stopped by… he says you dropped something –"

"Hey odango," the offender replied, all the color draining from her face as she took in the sight in her kitchen. Mamoru, in all his smirky glory, was leaning against her kitchen counter. In her kitchen. On a Saturday.

And she was wearing pink bunny pajamas.

The color that had left moments ago returned to pool in her cheeks, eyes blazing.

"What do _you_ want," she spat out, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Tsukino Usagi, that is no way to speak to a guest!" Her mother scolded, clearly embarrassed by Usagi's behavior.

"Well I've always been under the impression that the word guest implies someone you invite into your home!"

"And I did invite him into our home, and you are being extremely rude! Go get dressed and return when you can be more civilized."

Ikuko smoothed out the front of her apron, cheeks flushed in embarrassment at her daughter's behavior. She held out a plate of cookies she had baked earlier to Mamoru, flashing him a warm smile.

Mamoru just grinned at her, Usagi glaring in return.

The nerve of him, showing up at her house!

Usagi turned on her heel, heading for the stairs with malice in her eyes.

"I assure you, I raised her better than this," she heard Ikuko apologize, only fueling her anger.

"No worries, she just ah… dropped something yesterday and I wanted to return it to her," he replied smoothly.

_He wouldn't…_ she gasped, remembering her test that he had pocketed. She raced down the hallway and into her room, throwing clothes from her dresser while she searched for something to wear.

He so would.

"What has you all worked up?" Luna quipped, peering curiously at Usagi from her perch on the window.

"Mamoru-baka," she replied through gritted teeth, abandoning her bunny pajamas for a pair of denim shorts. She quickly did up the buttons on her pale pink sleeveless top, yanking the bows from her long ponytails and tossing them on top of the dresser.

"What did he do this time?" She picked up Usagi's compact with her teeth, nudging her side with it.

"Oh thanks." She shoved it into her pocket, clipping her communicator around her wrist. "Oh just trying to ruin my life as usual."

Luna rolled her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief.

Usagi pulled her white keds onto her feet, hastily tying the laces. She gave Luna a quick two finger salute and then tore down the stairs, skidding to a halt just outside the kitchen.

"Well, glad you two got to know each other," she called out with as much fake cheer as she could manage, her nails digging into Mamoru's skin as she wrapped her hand around his arm. "Now if you'll excuse us, Mamoru and I are going to have a little chat!"

Without another word she dragged him out of the kitchen by his arm, heading for the front door. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Tsukino," he called out, her mother waving pleasantly. Once outside the front gate Usagi let go of his arm, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"Alright, cut the crap, baka. What do you want?"

Mamoru clutched his chest and feigned shocked innocence. "Such harsh words, odango. And here I was just trying to do a nice thing."

He held out her test with a smirk, laughing as she snatched it out of his hand.

"Give me that! I thought that was what you were up to! You're a creep, Chiba, for trying to get me in trouble like that!"

"Hey, I was just trying to give you your test back, odango. It's not my fault you did so horribly on it." He reached up to flick one of her buns, her hand lunging out to swat his hand away.

"GO away! The best part about my weekends is that _you're_ usually not a part of them!" She stuck her tongue out at him, fuming as he just laughed and started to walk away, sunglasses on his nose and hands in his pockets.

"See you later, odango atama!" He called cheerfully.

"I hope not!" she shouted back as he waved over his shoulder. "And don't call me that!"

She slammed the door behind her, coming face to face with her curious mother. "Er… just heading back out!" she offered nervously, trying to hide the incriminating paper behind her back.

"What's that?" Her mother asked suspiciously, holding her hand out. "Usagi, is that your test?"

"This old thing?" she panicked, trying to laugh it off. "Oh it's no big deal, really, it would just bore you…"

"Usagi," she warned, eyes stern. "Hand it over."

"Trust me when I say you really don't want me to."

Her mothers eyes turned to daggers, hand held out expectantly. "Give. Me. The. Test."

Usagi sighed, feebly handing it over.

"Okay, but I warned you…" she sighed in resignation, closing her eyes as she waited for the yelling.

"An 80%?!" her mother beamed, pulling her into a tight hug. "You did even better than I had dared to hope!"

_Er, what? _

Whatever she had been expecting it most _certainly_ wasn't that. Nervously, she peered over at the paper, gawking at the 80% written in red pen at the top. She glanced at the problems suspiciously, her thoughts confirmed. She had definitely gotten questions 4, 5, & 6 wrong, but the red x's no longer appeared on the paper and the correct answers were neatly written in with pencil.

_Had he really… why on earth would he do that for her? It didn't make any sense…_

_What a weirdo._

The rest of the day passed rather smoothly, with Ikuko even promising to cook Usagi's favorite dinner and dessert for bringing home such a good grade. Never mind that the disappointment would only return full force after the next exam… for now she could enjoy the rewards.

"Don't you two think you should _actually_ study once in awhile," Artemis yawned, stretching out on Mina's unmade bed. Beside him Luna nodded in approval, flicking her tail.

Usagi glanced up from the manga in her hands, rolling her eyes. "Don't you think you two should just act like normal cats every now again." Beside her Minako giggled, looking up from her freshly painted toes and setting the gold nail polish down on her dresser.

"Yeah Artemis, quit being such a nag!"

"Well if you're not going to study, we should at least discuss senshi business," Artemis reprimanded.

"It's Sunday!" Usagi protested rather lamely, Minako pouting in agreement.

"Oh, and I suppose you think that the Negaverse takes the weekends off?"

The girls sighed in resignation, joining their feline guardians on the bed.

"We still know very little about them. They do seem to have someone new in command, however. A General of sorts," Artemis began. "But they're after the same mission as always. Sucking energy from unsuspecting people. What we can't figure out, though, is what they want this energy for."

Both of the girls shrugged, equally perplexed. Until a few years ago, Usagi didn't even know energy was a tangible thing that could be stolen – all she knew was that she had to prevent them getting it at all costs. But what _did_ they want it for? To fuel something, sure, but what?

They didn't exactly sit down to chat with their enemies about their plans before they annihilated them.

"Do you know anything about this General?" Minako frowned, a serious look on her face.

"Not much," Luna confessed. "Just that his name is Jedeite, and he seems to be attacking with a vengeance."

"You're telling me!" Usagi sighed, pointing to the still healing gash on her arm.

Luna sprang forward to land gracefully on the desk so she could peer down at Usagi's arm. "It's as if it's held together with invisible stitches," she mused.

"Oh! That's cause Tuxedo Kamen did this thing where he waved his hand over it and his fingers glowed all gold and stuff and then the wound started stitching itself with these thin gold stitches and then they magically disappeared…" Minako gushed, clearly impressed as she eyed the clean edges of the wound.

"Really?" Luna frowned in response. Usagi sighed in resignation, shrugging a shoulder at her violet feline.

All three of them considered Tuxedo Kamen to be suspicious, even after her protests that his intentions had to be good. He was too mysterious, Luna had claimed. And it wasn't like he'd ever declared he was on their side, either, Artemis had reasoned.

Still, with as often as he swooped in to save her it just seemed impossible that he wasn't on her side. _No,_ Usagi decided for the umpteenth time, _there was no way he could be an enemy. Besides he was just so dreamy…_

"Usagi!" Luna interrupted, waving a paw in front of her charges face. "Usagi, have you been listening to a single world I've said?

"Nope," she replied, Luna grimacing. "I know you worry, but I'm sure Luna – I refuse to believe he's anything but an ally. He has never done anything ill towards Minako and I. Only saved us when we were in trouble – innocent until proven guilty!" She declared determinedly, Luna shaking her head.

"Well, whatever his intentions, we can't let him distract us from our true mission. If he does, he's just as bad as the real enemy. We have to locate the other senshi and find our missing princess!"

"Why do we need _other senshi_," Usagi whined, resting her elbow on Minako's shoulder. "The two of us have been fighting together for two years and are doing just fine!"

"Yeah, as Negatrash target practice," Artemis scoffed, the two girls glaring at him. "Whether you like it or not, finding the other senshi is your mission, and we're certain it will help guide you to your ultimate destiny of finding and protecting the moon princess."

"Well," Mina said thoughtfully, Artemis looking up at her with a hopeful expression. "I think the only thing currently in my destiny is a giant ice cream sundae, don't you agree, Usagi?"

"Mmhm! With cherries on top and chocolate sauce!"

The two linked arms, using their guardian's moment of shock to sneak out quickly in search of their treat.

"Honestly," Artemis sighed. "I hope they don't let their guard down too much or those two airheads are toast."

"I guess we should cut them a little slack… I mean, they've made it this far, haven't they?" Luna sighed and snuggled back into the comforter, resting her chin on her paws.

For now, things were relatively peaceful. She had to allow them these little moments of happiness and calm when possible… once the true battle began, those would be nonexistent.

The battle that would decide all of their fates, and the fate of the entire Earth.

Just thinking about it was enough to give her a headache.


	5. 4 - Enough for One Lifetime

Naoko Takeuchi owns the Sailor Moon manga, and Viz Media currently holds the rights to the anime… and posted the first 23 episodes then just left everyone hanging.

As always, reviews are always appreciated :)

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><p>"So, Motoki, what were you just saying about the train station?" Usagi frowned, nudging Minako in the side. Mina sat up on her stool, blushing lightly.<p>

"Oh," the sandy blonde replied, wiping the counter in front of them with a clean rag. "It's the strangest thing, you know… people keep disappearing on the six o' clock train…" he frowned, pushing a newspaper in front of them. "It's been all over the news. You really haven't heard about it?"

_Officers don't have answers after another train disappears in Juuban…_

"Wow odango, you must live under a rock if you really haven't heard about this," a smug voice interrupted, the owner of it sitting down in the swivel stool next to her.

She hadn't seen him since he had changed her test for her. Should she thank him?

He was grinning at her rather arrogantly through his reading glasses, as if he almost expected her to say thank you. Hmph, well that just motivated her not to!

"I don't know, but thankfully it's not anywhere near whatever rock you crawled out from under this morning!" She huffed, sticking out her tongue at him.

"Good one, odango. Really, I don't know how you come up with such cutting remarks when you can barely scrape a C on your exams."

She glared, clenching her hands into fists. "Ooooh! You know, I've had just about enough of you for one lifetime, Chiba!"

"Oh, odango, say it isn't so!" He clutched his hand over his heart, her bright blue eyes narrowing in fury.

Motoki sighed, smacking his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Mamoru… Usagi… can't you two just be civil _for once_?"

"Nope," she replied, shaking her head quickly.

"Not a chance," he agreed, rolling his eyes.

"Hey look at that!" Minako beamed, the two looking at her in confusion. "You two just agreed on something!"

Motoki laughed, raising his hand to high five her. She obliged, gold eyes starry as her hand made contact with his.

"No we didn't! We just… oh shut up, what are _you_ laughing at!" She glared at Mamoru, only spurring on his laughter further.

He really was a huge pain.

And not cute at all. Even a little bit.

_Definitely not._

"You, odango. What else would I be laughing at?"

"Oooh!" A steady beeping sounded from Usagi and Minako's wristwatches, both girls jumping up simultaneously. They exchanged a nervous look before waving to Motoki and dashing out of the arcade.

"That was kinda strange," Mamoru frowned to his friend.

Motoki just shrugged, clearing their glasses. "Yeah, they do that a lot. Some kind of weird alarm or something…"

Mamoru shrugged, taking a sip from his coffee as he pulled out one of his textbooks. With odango gone, maybe he could actually concentrate on studying. Motoki leaned his elbows on the countertop, looking at Mamoru with a smug expression.

"What?"

"Why are you always giving her such a hard time? She's a nice girl, you know."

He rolled his eyes then shrugged. Truthfully he didn't know why… he wasn't one to tease girls or be mean but something about her brought out that side of him.

"I don't know," he shrugged, resting his chin on his hand. "Guess we're just destined not to get along."

Steaming coffee filled his mug again, Motoki setting down the coffee pot on the countertop. "You want to know what I think?"

"No, but I'm sure you'll tell me anyway."

He laughed, shaking his sandy blonde hair from his eyes. "I think you like her."

"Have you been drinking?"

"Ha. Ha. Seriously though. It's like you – hey, Mamoru are you okay?"

Motoki waved his hand in front of Mamoru's face, his midnight blue eyes glazed over before they squinted in pain, his hand reaching up to clutch his forehead.

"Yeah… just… migraine…" he managed to pant, pressing his thumb to his right temple. He had to get out of there… otherwise he'd transform… "Hey, thanks for the coffee man. I've got to go though… Here…" he grimaced, sliding over five dollars. "Keep the change," he winced, nearly knocking over two girls in his rush to get out of the sliding glass doors and into the alleyway besides the arcade.

His transformation was always painful, but trying to prevent it was worse. On the few times he'd tried he had eventually blacked out, waking up later to find hour long gaps in his day and strange bruises he couldn't account for.

He touched the corner of his mask, focusing all his attention on her location.

_White walls, racks of clothing, terrified teenagers falling to the floor…_

A group of girls huddled together, clinging to each other as a tall, slender youma towered over them. Fangs glinted between her blood red lips, long claw-like nails extending from her fingertips. Her eyes were sunken and black, her body covered in olive green scales.

"Wh-wh-what are you?" One of them squeaked, eyes wide with fear.

"I don't answer questions from humans," it replied maliciously. It held out its hand, green laser beams shooting at the girls chests and wrenching the soft pink orbs of energy from them.

The girls screamed before collapsing to the floor, the youma laughing wickedly as it collected the orbs in its hand.

"Stop right there, lizard face!" A voice cut across the store, the two blonde warriors standing back to back in the display window.

"We are the pretty suited sailor soldiers," Usagi called out, carrying out a series of hand signals. "For Love and Justice, I am the pretty sailor suited soldier Sailor Moon! In the name of the moon I will punish you!"

"I am the Agent of Love and Beauty, the pretty sailor suited soldier Sailor Venus! In the name of Love, I will punish you!"

"I'm not impressed," it replied, extending its arm. The claws broke off from her fingers, turning into lethal spikes heading right for them. Both of the girls jumped quickly, landing several feet away in a crouched position.

"Who cares? We're here to smoke you, not impress you!" Minako shouted, placing her hand on the delicate gold heart chain around her hips.

"Love-me chain!" She cried, the chain unraveling from her hips and spiraling around her before shooting towards the youma. It deflected it, sending the chain flying back at them. It wrapped around the girls, binding them back to back.

"Aaagh! Venus! Get this thing off of us!"

"I'm trying! It won't budge!"

She winced as the youma got ready to hurl another attack at them, the force sending them flying backwards into a rack of clothes.

"Ow," Minako muttered, struggling in vain against the confines of her own chain. "I guess now we at least have an idea of how strong this thing is… right?"

Usagi just glared at her, rolling her eyes as she tried to shake off the sweater draped over her head. "Yeah, I'm thrilled. Now, how are we going to get out of this?!"

"Sailor Moon, Sailor Venus you've got to focus and believe in yourselves," a familiar voice urged. "You control it, Venus, not the other way around."

"I control it?" Minako repeated, eyeing the chain skeptically.

Usagi felt her heart beat wildly in her chest, her cheeks flushing pink. He was always so encouraging and so cryptic, showing up just when they needed him the most. Minako nodded determinedly, wrapping her fingers around the linked gold hearts.

"Love me chain!" she called out, yanking hard. The chain fell to the floor at their feet before reassembling itself and sliding back into place around Mina's hips.

"Tuxedo Kamen!" Sailor Moon cheered, rubbing her arms where the chain had left dark red lines across her skin.

"Sailor Moon, watch out!" he yelled, jumping in front of her and knocking her to the ground. He rolled, landing on his back with her on top, her knees on either side of his legs.

Her elbow hit his diaphragm sharply, knocking the wind out of him. He gasped for air as she looked at him with wide eyes lit with concern.

"Rolling heart vibration!" The youma screeched, crumbling to a pile of dust on the floor. Sailor Moon sat up, placing her hands on his chest as she frantically shook him, completely unaware of their intimate position.

Now he couldn't breathe for a whole other reason.

"Don't. Move," he managed to gasp, trying to think firmly of anything else besides the super heroine in front of him. In her knee-high boots and ridiculously short – ahhh.

"Tuxedo Kamen, are you alright?"

_Dying puppies. Dying children. Burned tofu. Usagi…_ to his extreme confusion that last one only seemed to make his current situation worse.

_Motoki! Motoki half-naked. There, that's working._ Completely unaware she continued to straddle his hips, biting her lip…

_Ah! My chemistry professor! That one works surprisingly well, actually._ Finally able to gain some composure he gently nudged her off of him, sitting up to catch his breath. His hand went up instinctively to his mask, making sure it was still secured in place over his eyes.

"Are you alright?" Two watery blue eyes stared back at him, her teeth still painfully clutching her pink bottom lip.

He stood, offering a hand to help her up, accidentally drawing her close against him in his enthusiasm. She inhaled sharply, their masked eyes meeting for a heated stare.

"Fine," he finally answered, clearing his throat and letting go of her to re-establish a distance between them.

"Good I…" she faltered, cheeks flushing pink. "I was worried I'd hurt you when we fell."

_Ha. If only she knew…_

"Thank you for saving us… again," she frowned, slightly embarrassed. He always seemed to have to save her. Just once she wanted to come across as cool and able to save herself. As if reading her mind he placed a gloved hand under her chin, tilting her head up. He smiled softly, holding her face there.

"I believe in you, Sailor Moon. Don't forget that." He dusted his thumb briefly across her cheekbone before taking off with a whoosh of his cape.

Sigh…

"_Tuxedo Kamen, what are you doing here?"_

"_I had to see you, to tell you how I felt. Sailor Moon, I'm in love with you, I always have been…"_

"USAGIIIIIII!" Her blue haired mother called the next morning in frustration, banging a wooden spoon against a pot over Usagi's head.

"Five more minutes…" she mumbled, snuggling back into the pillow. She was having the best dream… about Tuxedo Kamen…

"Get. Up. Right. Now, or you will be grounded for the next month!"

Usagi hopped out of bed, glaring freely at her mother. "Geez, I'm up, are you happy?!"

"Just once, Usagi, just _once_ I wish I didn't have to treat you like a child! Even your brother is more responsible than you are, and he's four years younger!"

Shingo would never let her live that one down. She hurriedly pulled on her uniform, glaring in Luna's direction.

"And don't _you_ start," she warned, pulling her black cross-strap flats onto her socked feet.

"Meow," was all Luna replied, snuggling back into the comforter and narrowly avoiding the slipper Usagi tossed her way.

Hurricane Usagi raced through the house, grabbing her school bag, lunch and finishing the last few bites of her now cold toast.

Her feet pounded against the pavement as she began her mad dash for school.

_Good_, she thought, _no sign of that creep Mamo _– ooph!

"Maybe you should try keeping your eyes ahead of you for once, will you odango?"

He was dressed in navy slacks, the sleeves of his white button down rolled to his elbows. On his nose sat a pair of now crooked rectangular frames, a white lab coat folded over his arm.

"Yeah? What's your excuse then? This is a two-way street, buddy!" She shouted back, poking her finger into his chest.

She started to walk away but he reached out to grab her shoulder, frowning as she obviously winced. He hadn't grabbed her hard…

"What's wrong with your shoulder?" He asked her sharply, trying his hardest to sound like he didn't care. Because he didn't.

Obviously.

"Wh-what? It's… that's… that's none of your business!" She shot back, clutching her shoulder in obvious discomfort.

"Come on, odango, let me see."

She backed away, glaring at him. "What? No way! Over my dead body!"

He sighed in exasperation. "Why are you being so weird about this? I'm studying to be a doctor. Just let me look."

"No," she replied stubbornly, trying to shrug away his hand. He gripped her upper arm tightly, eyeing her suspiciously. Now that he thought about it, she did have a lot of strange bruises and scrapes all the time… like just now, her knees seemed to be in various stages of healing, and there was a large bruise on her left shin, as well as several of what looked like burn marks on her forearm.

"Usagi," he said sharply, looking at her blue eyes questioningly. "Is someone hurting you?"

"What?" she gasped, finally wriggling out of his iron grip. "No! I'm just super clumsy, is all."

She rolled her eyes as he continued to look at her skeptically. "Fine, you caught me. I'm Sailor V. I got these fighting monsters, obviously," she deadpanned.

"Yeah, and I'm Batman. Who did this to you, odango?"

Wait, was it really so hard to believe? She _was_ Sailor Moon, after all, he had no right to scoff at her like it was impossible that she could be a beautiful crime fighting champion of justice…

_Not the point, Usagi._

"Come on, I crash into you at least once a day – that's got to account for at least half of these! Besides, since when do _you_ care anyway?"

She arched an eyebrow in challenge.

"I don't," he replied coolly. "But I wouldn't be a very good doctor if I didn't at least pretend."

"Oooh, the only patients you'd be good at doctoring would be the ones in the morgue!" she retorted, sticking her tongue out at him.

"You're hopeless."

A bell rang in the distance, causing her to jump. She had wasted so much time standing here talking to him. Without another word she took off for the school, praying she would get there before the final bell.


	6. 5 - Playing with Fire

Happy almost Thanksgiving! Sorry for the wait, things have been a little nuts. I actually have 2/3 of this story already written (about 24 chapters), but have been tweaking things based on later chapters and wanted to wait to post this until I was 100% committed to my plan. Anyway, I don't own these characters, just having fun plugging them into my own story. Reviews are always wonderful :) Thanks for reading!

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><p>Unbeknownst to Motoki, the basement under the arcade housed a computer run by two cats that was connected to the computer system on the moon. The only way to access it was by teleporting or moving aside the long broken Sailor V game to reveal a secret set of stairs.<p>

The two senshi huddled close together, staring at said computer while Artemis typed furiously.

"We gave you two a day to rest after your fight yesterday, but we have work to do," Artemis began, tone serious. "You say people have been disappearing at the train station?"

The girls nodded, Usagi shoving the newspaper clip towards him. "The six am train… it just goes to prove that nothing good can come out of having to be anywhere before ten."

Minako stifled a laugh while Luna just shook her head, Artemis tapping the screen until a pale face appeared with glowing ice blue eyes.

"Just as I suspected! The Negaverse is clearly involved. And this must be the General that's running the whole operation…"

The two super heroines nodded with determination, squeezing each other's hands.

"Ick, he's creepy. Look at those eyes…"

"We need to get to the train station right away! Before anymore people disappear."

"Right!" Usagi agreed. Suddenly the computer screen was covered in static, the girls jumping back in shock. Then a glowing image of a bright yellow crescent moon with a long pink handle appeared on the screen, lighting up the whole room.

"Wow… what is that thing?" Usagi asked in wonder, gasping when something dropped into her lap.

They all looked at her with wide eyes as she ran her fingers over the smooth yellow surface of the crescent shape, the pink wand fitting perfectly in her hand.

"What _is_ this, Luna?"

"It's the moon healing stick," Luna replied in awe, looking at Usagi curiously. "It is used to heal people the Negaverse has turned evil… if it was gifted it to you it must be significant."

"What do I do with it?"

"The moon stick is very powerful, Usagi. It's a symbol of leadership… I'm confident it was gifted to you for a reason. When the right moment arises you'll know what to do."

"Wait did you just say I'm the leader?" she blanched, clutching the strange wand to her chest. "How did that happen?"

"The computer's never wrong," Luna replied vaguely. She then pushed a deep purple compact towards Minako, Mina's eyebrows knitting together.

"What am I supposed to do with this? I already have a compact…"

"I want you to hold onto it! I have a feeling Mars will reveal herself soon…"

"Well how are we supposed to know who she is?" Usagi asked her cat blankly, the two staring at the red heart shape in Mina's hand.

"You just will. Now go!"

The two girls landed roughly on the tiled floor of the train station, wasting no time as they jumped to their feet and surveyed their surroundings.

"I swear, I will never get used to teleporting," Usagi mumbled, rubbing her elbow.

"It's so quiet in here," Mina whispered, glancing around.

The train center was usually bustling at five-thirty am… packed with commuters and travelers, vendors lining the walls. And yet today, it was deserted. The lights flickered slightly,

"This is so…"

"Creepy," Mina agreed, both jumping as the sound of cruel laughter reverberated off of the walls.

"So, you two have come at last. It's about time," He scoffed, the two of them glancing around the station for a sign of who was talking.

"There!" Minako gasped, pointing to a shadow on one of the upper balconies.

"Stop being such a coward and show yourself!" Usagi yelled, her voice unwavering despite the erratic way her heart beat in her chest.

He leapt off the balcony in one clean jump, landing in a crouch several feet away from them before rising and brushing off the front of his coat. He wore a grey military coat with red piping and a belt, a gold button fastened over his heart. His grey pants matched with red vertical stripes up the side, tucked into knee high black boots. His eyes were so cold, the whites glowing pale blue amidst his messy sandy blonde hair.

In another life, maybe he was handsome and only slightly older than them. But for now, he was just plain creepy.

"Who the heck are you?"

"I am Jadeite, loyal to Queen Beryl and General of the Negaverse. I see you've met several of my youma," he smirked, eyes raking over their bruised legs.

"Hey, creep, eyes up here!" Venus shouted, glaring daggers at him.

"I tire of your conversation…" he gave an exaggerated yawn, then gathered a dark orb between his gloved hands, tossing it their way.

"Look out!" They dove sideways, somersaulting to avoid being hit. Behind them an ATM was shattered to pieces, the ground sizzling where it had once stood.

"Too bad," he replied indifferently, drawing up another ball. "That was supposed to be you."

"What have you done with all of those people?" Venus glowered, narrowly missing another attack.

"Oh? Would you really like to know?" He quirked an eyebrow in challenge, the six o' clock train rambling up behind him. "Guess you have a train to catch," he smirked, snapping a finger as the doors slid open.

"C'mon!" Usagi yelled, capitalizing on a rare moment of braveness as she grabbed Minako's hand and dragged the two of them inside. Jadeite snapped again, the door slamming shut behind them.

The train was empty, racing down the tracks towards a black tunnel.

"Well, Usagi, it's been nice knowing you…" Minako gulped, the train disappearing into the black hole. They were slammed forward as they passed into another dimension, suspended into the empty space around them.

"Where are we?" The doors slid open, dropping them unceremoniously to the ground. Three other trains floated around them, filled with sleeping people.

"Good job, Sailor Twits, you fell right into my trap! Now I will take your energy _and_ rid myself of your interfering antics at the same time."

"What are you, some cheesy villain from a bad afternoon special?" Minako taunted, looking around for him. Usagi felt uneasy – they could hear him, but they couldn't see him…

"Ahhhh!" They shrieked, leaping out of the way to avoid the smoky swirls emitting from Jadeite's palm.

"It's fine, I've got plenty of time! We can continue this aaaall morning for all I care!"

Usagi tumbled, landing next to a semi-conscious girl with long raven hair. She looked up at Usagi with awe, her long bangs parting to reveal a strange red sign glowing on her forehead.

_What the…_

"Venus!" She gasped, barely dodging another of Jadeite's smoke wisps. "Throw me that compact Luna gave you!"

"Huh? Why –"

"Here's an idea, how about you throw first, ask later!" She yelled back through gritted teeth, the momentary distraction enough to allow Jadeite to wrap thick ropes around Mina's torso.

"Ahhhh! You creep!" She yelled, struggling against the strong ropes around her.

"What's your name?" Usagi whispered to the dark haired girl next to her.

"Rei," she whispered back, determination ringing in her voice.

Usagi pressed the compact into the palm of her hand, checking over her shoulder to make sure Minako was okay.

"Look, no time to explain now but take this, it's like mine, see?" She pointed to the heart shaped compact on her chest. "Then stand up and throw it into the air and say Mars Fire Power, Makeup!" Two violet eyes looked at her skeptically, a sculpted eyebrow raising.

"What…?"

"Doesn't anyone else realize we're on a time crunch here? Just do it! I told you, I'll explain everything later!"

"Sailor Moon!" Venus' voice cut across the dimension, Usagi diving to knock her bound friend out of harms way. "Get these stupid things off of me! Man, this guy is pissing me off. Why'd you want the com –"

"I am the Agent of Love and Fire, the pretty sailor suited soldier Sailor Mars! In the name of Mars, I will chastise you!"

"We have back-up!" Usagi replied in a singsong voice, staring at the new Senshi in wonder. Her long legs were accented with bright red high heels, everything else on her outfit the same bright cherry color. The only difference amidst the red was a deep amethyst bow at her chest, the compact Luna had given them fastened to the center. A glittering red and purple star pendent glowed at her belt, and the red sign of Mars shining bright on her forehead.

"Hey, too cool!" Minako yelled in appreciation.

Jadeite faltered for a moment as he looked from the two blondes to the newly arrived dark haired soldier.

It was the exact moment Mars needed to strike.

"Fire soul!" She yelled, pressing her thumbs and index fingers together, a spark forming at her fingertips. It erupted into a full flame, engulfing the stunned Jadeite in seconds. He fell to the ground, weak but still dangerous.

"Argh," he spat, Venus' eyes glowing with determination as she looked at the hunched over form of Jadeite.

"Crescent beam –"

For a moment Usagi locked eyes with him and gasped. The icy blue glow of earlier faltered, and the green eyes that stared back at her seemed familiar. Like maybe once, she'd known him.

"Wait!" Mars gasped, clutching Venus' wrist to stop her attack. Venus looked at her questioningly. "You can't… he's not… just trust me on this!"

So she'd seen the same thing Usagi had? Rei's amethyst eyes were wide in fear as she held Venus' wrist captive, looking to Usagi for help.

She placed her hands against her compact, the moon wand landing in her hand. She pressed it to her forehead, the sideways crescent symbol blinking as it charged the larger crescent shape in her hand. Then she held the wand to her heart, focusing her energy inward. "Moon healing escalation!"

She pointed it directly at Jadeite, a shimmering mist surrounding him.

The girls watched in silence as a dark shadow was ripped from his chest, the glittering mist engulfing the shadow and shattering it to pieces.

A small burgundy gem landed in his outstretched palm.

The sandy haired general collapsed onto his side, the outline of a red triangle glowing briefly on his forehead, Mars gasping beside her.

"The alchemy symbol for fire," she whispered, breaking away from Usagi to kneel beside him. She placed her hand tenderly on his cheek, eyes closed as her lips moved quickly to whisper words Usagi and Minako couldn't hear.

"So…" Minako finally broke the silence, tearing her gaze from Mars and Jadeite to look around. "How do we get out of this place anyway?"

_Believe in yourselves_, a clear voice rang in Usagi's head. _If you combine your powers together, you can do it._

"I have an idea…" Usagi offered, helping Rei pull an unconscious Jadeite to his feet. She slung one of his arms over her shoulders, the other draped over Rei's, then held out her hands for both of the girls to take. "I don't know if this is going to work, but I have a feeling."

She expected them to tease her but Rei just nodded, her face solemn. Minako gave Usagi a determined look and took Mars and Moon's hands in hers.

"Venus and I can teleport," she explained quickly to Rei. "It's part of our powers, so I'm sure you can too."

"But what about all of the people on the trains? And Jadeite? We've never tried to transport with someone else before." Minako asked, Usagi's shoulders slumping. She hadn't thought about that…

_Don't give up. You can get out of there and save everyone at the same time._

"Wait! What about your chain, Mina? Could you use it to link us to the trains as well?"

She shrugged, unraveling it from her waist. "Worth a shot!"

With a gloved hand she was able to wield her chain, linking it to each of the three suspended trains.

Holding tight to the unconscious Jadeite, the three of them closed their eyes, focusing on the train station platform.

"Moon prism power –"

"Venus love power –"

"Mars fire power –"

"Transport!"

The wind that howled around them tried to pull them apart, to break the connection they so desperately clung to but the girls held tight. One of Usagi's hands was linked tightly with Rei's across Jadeite's back, the fingers of her other hand laced with Minako's. The scenery began to fade as bright red, yellow, and pink light was emitted from the marks on the girls foreheads. As they were ripped through the dimension, everything in Usagi screamed at her to let go but she held on tight, refusing to give up.

They landed with a thud on the tiled floor, Mars in a graceful crouch, Tuxedo Kamen supporting the unconscious Jadeite, and Usagi and Minako splayed on the ground.

"Do you mind?" Usagi huffed, pushing Venus off of her. She took a deep breath, pressing her hand to her forehead. The crescent moon still burned brightly, but she was drained from the amount of power she had just exerted.

Her crystal blue eyes looked up to meet Tuxedo Kamen's. He gently lay Jadeite down on the floor, crouching before her to offer her his hands and pull her to her feet.

"You have done great work today," he murmured, clutching one of her small hands in his and cupping his other gloved hand around the curve of her cheek. "You have awakened another sailor soldier, and the first of my soldiers."

"Your soldiers?" she murmured, heart racing against her ribcage.

His lips pressed fleetingly against the crescent mark on her forehead, a sense of calm washing over her. Then he left her, scooping up the unconscious Jadeite and disappearing out the open window.

The doors to the three trains opened, collective groans and murmurings of "Where am I?" "What happened?" echoing through the platform.

"Aaaand that's our cue to go!" Venus grabbed the arms of her two fellow senshi, dragging them all out the same open window Tuxedo Kamen had jumped out of.

Tuxedo Kamen… her heart always raced so fast when he was around.

_Does he feel the same way about me? _Usagi's boots hit the ground with a soft thud, the long gauzy tails of her bow fluttering behind her. _He's so mysterious… I wish he'd give me a sign, some clue to how he feels about me._


	7. 6 - New Friends and Green Eyes

I don't own Sailor Moon at all - I just borrow the characters! I have about 24 chapters written, and am going to start a posting schedule and (aim for) posting a new chapter every Tuesday. Since it's been awhile, I'll post one today and one Tuesday as well. Hope everyone had a good thanksgiving!

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><p>"Rei!" Usagi called out, waving to the dark haired girl waiting outside of the school gates. She attended a different school than they did, a private high school up the hill from them.<p>

"Hey Rei!" Minako smiled, giving her a side hug. The three of them had fallen into an easy companionship since awakening Sailor Mars, although they hadn't had a chance to use her again yet – the Negaverse had been freakishly quiet since the senshi's transformation of Jedeite.

'_Don't get complacent!'_ Luna had warned, much to Rei's initial shock. Usagi and Mina were so used to their cats talking it didn't phase them anymore. _'They're probably gathering their forces and getting ready to strike again! You must remain on your guard!'_

"Hey guys," she smiled, smoothing out the front of her uniform top. Her uniform was drastically different from theirs, giving her an older appearance. The double-buttoned top was accented with a deep burgundy bow and grey sailor collar, the TA Academy emblem embroidered over her left breast. Her grey skirt was shorter than theirs, skimming mid thigh, and her knee-high socks made her legs look long and slender.

Usagi often found herself marveling at the Soldier of Mars' beauty, and the centered grace that she carried herself with. If she wasn't so clearly associated with the planet Mars she would have guessed her to be the Princess.

"Wow, odango, I'm surprised you haven't scared off your new friend yet," a voice interrupted her, the offender leaning casually against the side of the fence. Another guy stood next to him, his sandy blonde hair messy across his forehead and revealing a pair of jade green eyes.

Green eyes…

She gasped, feeling Rei do the same next to her.

"Uh, hello, earth to odango?" Mamoru continued, waving his hand in front of her face.

"Wha – ooh, Mamoru, why do you have to be such a jerk!" She yelled, stomping her foot. "Honestly, don't you have someone your own age to bug?" She eyed the guy beside him suspiciously, balking when he stepped forward and offered her his hand.

"Hi, I'm Kaidou," he smiled, Usagi's cheeks flushing. It was so strange seeing Jadeite, who had tried to kill them just a week ago, dressed in khakis and a light blue button down shirt and a big smile on his face.

"Usagi," she replied, shaking his hand. "This is Minako, and this is –"

"Rei!" Her friend interrupted breathily, gently pushing her aside. The pair locked eyes, the other three around them looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Hey, you want to grab some coffee?" He smiled, running a hand through his messy hair. Rei nodded, taking his arm and walking off without a second glance back at her friends.

"Looks like you two clowns are back to being on your own!" Mamoru laughed, barely dodging Usagi's hand as she reached out to smack his arm.

"Yeah well… so are you! And anyway, how'd you even trick that poor guy into being your friend, huh?"

He rolled his blue eyes, catching her wrist in his hand as she reached out to swing at him again. His fingers wrapped around her small wrist, the two paling. _Why does this feel familiar?_

He dropped her hand as if it burned, the two staring at each other in confusion.

"Er…"

"I…"

"You… oh just stop being such a creep!" She sputtered, sticking her tongue out as Minako dragged her off.

Later that night a loud beeping woke a sleeping Usagi, Luna shaking her frantically until she got out of bed.

"Okay, okay! Freaking moon prism power, make up!" She yelled, transforming before launching herself out the window.

"Usa – Sailor Moon! On your left!" Rei shouted, Usagi tumbling to her right.

"Thanks!" She called out gratefully. The great snake reared back, baring its fangs. Mars panted, narrowly dodging its tail as she sent another fireball at it.

"Ahhh!" She screamed as it whacked her with its tail, sending her flying.

A figure appeared from nowhere, catching her easily in his arms and jumping out of harms way before letting her down gently on her feet.

"What the –" Usagi frowned, a pang of jealousy hitting her. But Tuxedo Kamen was supposed to swoop in and save _her_, not Mars…

As if hearing her thoughts, the real Tuxedo Kamen jumped down, landing lightly beside her. She looked from him to the man with Mars, a realization washing over her.

The man who'd saved Rei wasn't Tuxedo Kamen – it was Jadeite!

"Tuxedo Kamen," she breathed, feeling relieved. "We can't beat this thing!"

"Yes you can, Sailor Moon! You just have to find it's weak spot!"

Well she knew what her weak spot was – the masked man in front of her!

"Yeah, well, it doesn't seem to have one!" She replied slightly frustrated, eyes going wide as the huge snake shot a stream of venom towards her. Tuxedo Kamen grabbed her, jumping skyward and perching in the tree above them, his arms wrapped tightly around her.

"Oh that's just great!" Minako called up to them, sending round after round of crescent beams at the large snake. "You two get rescued while I'm left down here to battle this stupid thing alone?!"

"Err, right," Usagi nodded, reluctantly tearing herself from Tuxedo Kamen's strong arms. She always felt so warm when she was next to him, like she could do anything.

"Go for the throat!" Jadeite yelled, his green eyes bright. He and Rei rejoined the fight with a blast of fireballs, Tuxedo Kamen and Usagi doing the same.

"The throat?! But how…"

Jadeite closed his eyes, a glittering sphere appearing in the palm of his hands. Usagi's eyes went wide with fear – it was the same ball of energy that had almost sent her to her death a week before.

"Tuxedo Kamen! Look out!" She called, diving to push her masked superhero to the ground with her.

They rolled, her body pinned beneath his as he reached up to straighten out his mask.

"Sailor Moon what are you –"

She blushed as she glanced up, Jadeite's attack hitting the youma right in the throat.

Right, he was on their side now…

So weird.

"Oops… sorry, it's just going to take some getting used to…"

"Fire soul!" Rei screamed, aiming her fire directly at its throat. The snake screeched, writhing as it shrunk from 14 feet back down to 4…

"Er, Tuxedo Kamen…" she began softly, tapping his shoulder with a gloved finger. He glanced down at her, raising an eyebrow. "Not that it's not nice but… could you get off me so I can moon dust this thing for good?"

"Huh? What… oh right!" He jumped up lithely, extending his hand to pull her to her feet, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Lunar flash!" She yelled, a bright flash of white light from her compact engulfing the snake and shattering it into pieces.

"Cool!" Mina shouted in approval, toeing some of the snake dust with her shoe before it disappeared.

"Sailor Moon," Jadeite grinned wolfishly, extending a hand. "Care to explain why you thought I was going to kill Tuxedo Kamen earlier?"

She blushed, scratching the back of her head. "Er… reflex? Sorry, just trying to get used to you being on our side now. Not that I don't appreciate it! Your energy attack things are really cool when you're not hurling them at my face!"

"Touché," he laughed genuinely, bowing at the waist to her. "And thank you for saving me. You have removed a huge weight from my shoulders," he grinned, kissing her hand. She blushed openly, unaware of Tuxedo Kamen rolling his eyes beside her.

It was true, though. He looked a thousand times lighter, and his smile was so sincere.

"Well we're happy to have you fighting along our side!" Minako beamed. "Although it would be nice to have someone swoop in and save my butt every now and again."

"I can only hope you will extend the same favor to the other three. Before Beryl's corruption we served the great Prince, Guardian of Earth, and it is our destiny as the four Shitennou to find him and let him lead us once again."

Usagi blanched, blinking slowly as she tried to take in his words. Four Shitennou? Guardian of Earth?

"So where do you play into all of this, then? If you're not one of the Shitennou?" Minako frowned, glancing towards Tuxedo Kamen.

He just shrugged fingering the hem of his cape. "No idea. I'm hoping to find out myself." He stared ahead wistfully, eyes distant.

Prince huh… who needed some other Prince, Tuxedo Kamen was the only guardian she needed.

He turned to leave but Usagi caught up with him and grabbed his wrist, trapping it in her small hand.

"Wait!" She called out, his midnight blue eyes turning back to her in shock. "Don't go yet."

He sighed, turning slowly. His blue eyes were so deep… she felt like they could suck her right in and see through to her soul.

She blushed, pressing her palms to his chest.

"Why do you always save me, Tuxedo Kamen?"

He faltered for a moment as if looking for the words to reply. "I… I don't really know, I don't really have much control over it. I'll be somewhere and I'll get this horrible headache… then the next thing I know I'm on a rooftop dressed like this…"

She frowned, trying not to look too deflated. "Oh well… that makes sense, I guess."

His gaze softened as he looked at her dejected form. "But there's also a part of me that feels like in another life… we were destined to be together. And that's why I'm forced to transform whenever you do… I feel like my destiny is tied to yours."

She gazed back at him with starry eyes, the word destiny repeating in her head over and over again. "Look, I don't know where we fit into this whole Moon Princess, Prince of Earth thing but… Sailor Moon are you even listening to me?"

"Huh?"

He smiled playfully, tapping her nose with a gloved finger.

"As long as you're the defender of love and justice, Sailor Moon, I will always try to be by your side to help you in whatever way I can." He touched his index and middle finger to his own lips, kissing the fingertips before pressing them to her lips.

He winked, whooshing his cape and disappearing into the night.

Her lips burned where his fingertips had touched them, eyes hooded as she stared after him.

"Whoa, Usagi, that was really romantic…" Rei gasped, the two looking over in shock as Minako stomped her foot.

"It's just not fair! _I'm_ the stupid Goddess of Love! I should have some strapping guy swooping in to save me too!"

"C'mon, Mina I'll get you the next best thing – a chocolate milkshake!"

The three girls laughed, ducking behind a cluster of trees to wave their hands over their compacts to power down.

"Last one to the arcade is a Dark Kingdom troll!"


	8. 7 - Phantom Silver Crystal

I don't own Sailor Moon, but ohmygod, for those of you watching the new Viz dub how amazing was it to see the last two episodes uncut and as they were meant to be?! SO much more intense and heartbreaking than the original dub. And, and this weeks Sailor Moon Crystal, ohmygod. Thank you for leaving reviews – they mean a lot!

In a piece written by a Japanese to English translator about translating Sailor Moon, she mentioned how she always thought the translation to 'Legendary Silver Crystal' was incorrect, and that personally she felt that the 'Phantom Silver Crystal' was a much better fit. It resonated with me because it is sort of a phantom – this powerful entity they know exists but aren't sure where or how to find it. Anyway, just a side note.

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><p>"<em>Endymion," she sighed leaning closer. If only she could see his face… but it was always too dark to make out the features. <em>

"_Please, you must find the Moon Princess and locate the Phantom Silver Crystal," he whispered, placing his hand on her cheek. The feeling was so right, so familiar to her…_

"_But I… where do I find them?" She faltered, placing her hand over his to hold it there._

"_You must find them Sailor Moon… before it's too late. Before history repeats… ahhhh!"_

_A sword thrust through the darkness, piercing through his abdomen._

"_Noooooo!" She screamed, lunging forward as he fell to his knees._

_In the darkness a cruel voice laughed, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up._

"_Who are you?" She screamed, gasping as her own abdomen started to bleed profusely. She fell forward, Endymion placing a hand on her shoulder._

"_We can't… let history…" he gasped, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. "Repeat…"_

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" She screamed, clutching her forehead, blinding pain shooting through her face.

"Usagi! Usagi! USAGI!" Luna shouted frantically, jumping on her chest to try to calm her down. Her red eyes were bright with fear as she stared at her young charge, trying to hide her own trembling. It wasn't the first time Usagi had woken up from one of these vicious nightmares, and every time she did she couldn't quite recall what had happened.

"Usagi," she gasped, her eyes fixed on the trickle of blood from her charge's nose. "Your nose is bleeding…"

She wiped her hand hastily across her upper lip and sure enough, Luna was right – blood stained across the back of her hand.

"Luna my dream… so much blood… a man was there," she gasped, pressing her other hand to her splitting forehead. She tried to get out the words as quickly as possible, as if afraid she would forget. "He… he was pleading with me to find the Moon Princess and something called the Phantom Silver Crystal. He said we couldn't let history repeat itself…"

Her face was ghostly white as she relayed this to Luna, trying to stop the steady trickle of blood by piching the bridge of her nose and tilting her head back. "He… someone stabbed him," tears clouded her vision, springing from her lash line to pepper her cheeks. "Right through the abdomen. So much blood… then there was laughing… a horrible sound, some sort of woman… so evil. I tried to reach for him, and then I realized my own abdomen was bleeding and I collapsed…" The tears flowed freely now, her shoulders shaking. "Then he said again to find them… that history couldn't repeat…"

Luna listened to her relay the dream with wide eyes, rubbing her face comfortingly against Usagi's jawline. The poor girl was clearly distraught over the dream – she couldn't recall a time when Usagi had been so serious before.

"Luna, what was he talking about? What's this Silver Crystal?"

Luna frowned, racking her brain. "It sounds familiar… I'm not sure.

"You get cleaned up," Luna told her softly, licking away the tears on her cheek. "I need to go find Artemis at once and see what we can find out about all of this!"

Her eyes were fierce with determination as she sprang for the window, pausing to glance back at Usagi with a softer expression. "Try to get some sleep, Usagi."

She leapt from the window, leaving a trembling Usagi in her wake. She shakily retreated to clean her bloody nose in the bathroom, splashing her face with cold water. _It was just a dream_, she told her reflection sternly. _A scary, very realistic dream but a dream nonetheless!_

Trying to go back to sleep was obviously not going to happen. She needed to clear her head, get some fresh air. She abandoned her bunny pajamas, slipping into a pair of jeans and a soft white sweater, pulling her white keds onto her feet.

Fresh air was definitely the answer.

Across town, Mamoru awoke with a violent headache, clutching his hand to his temple. The dream… the same girl who always haunted his dreams had stood before him begging him to find her and then through the darkness someone had stabbed him. When her own abdomen spilled red seconds later there was nothing he could do, just watch as the color drained from her face…

"Dude," Kaidou's voice cut into the silence, hesitant eyes peering through the doorway. "Your nose is bleeding…"

Mamoru frowned, pressing a tissue to his right nares.

"Bad dream," he gasped, temple still throbbing.

He ran a hand through his black hair, trying to regain a sense of control.

"I… I need fresh air. I'm going for a walk." Kaidou just nodded, clapping a reassuring hand on his friends back as he stood. They would get to the bottom of it all eventually. For now all they could do was wait.

Usagi found herself gulping in fresh air as if her very life depended on it, the pounding of her head fading away to a gentle irritant, the details of the dream blurring before her eyes.

Still though, it disturbed her, and her body's strong visceral reaction to it bothered her even more. Why had her nose bled? And why in the dream did her own abdomen bleed just moments after he was stabbed?

What was her connection to this Endymion? She'd never even heard of him before.

"Odango –" a voice started, but she cut him off with a tired sigh.

"Just… don't tonight, okay? I'm not in the mood." His eyes softened as he took in the sight of her, sitting on the railing of the park bridge, her face ghostly pale and her nose… was that blood by her nose?

"You okay?" He asked hesitantly, tentatively standing beside her on the railing.

"Just –" Why did she feel like telling him of all people? It was completely ridiculous. "Can't sleep," she said vaguely.

"Yeah," he frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I know the feeling."

"You mean you don't usually creep around this time of night looking for innocent girls to make fun of?" She stuck her tongue out at him, unable to help herself from slipping into their usual pattern.

"Hey, I thought you said you weren't in the mood," he teased, tapping her nose with his index finger. She blushed, turning her face away as she recalled the time Tuxedo Kamen had done the same thing to her. And then he'd kissed his fingers and pressed them to her lips… so romantic…

"Hey, space cadet, wake up."

Right, back to reality.

"So why can't you sleep?"

"Bad dream," he answered honestly, the answer surprising her. Was that blood on the edge of his nose?

"What, you looked in the mirror and realized you were Chiba Mamoru?" she teased faintly, although her heart wasn't quite into it. Had he gotten a bloody nose like she had? _That would be so weird…_

"Really, that's the best you can come up with?"

She sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "Yeah, sorry. I still have a headache… my brain's a little fuzzy."

So she'd woken with a headache too? Maybe it was some weird thing going around… but it just seemed so strange that the same thing had happened to both of them. And that they'd then run into each other…

"Wait, there's a brain in there?" he squeezed one of her odango's, laughing as she angrily swatted his hand away.

"Oh, go jump off a br –"

A loud explosion caused both of them to glance up sharply, the site in the park across from them draining whatever color was remaining from Usagi's face. These damn youma attacks were getting more and more frequent, and they had yet to meet the new Dark Kingdom General behind them. Or Shitennou turned Dark Kingdom General… the whole thing was still a bit confusing.

One of the construction workers screamed, his body contorting and glowing bright red as it morphed into a youma, towering over the rest of the workers. His body was covered in red scales, yellow spikes lining his arms and back as he rounded on them, attacking the workers for their energy.

"Mamoru get out of here!"

"Usagi, run!"

They yelled simultaneously, the pair looking at each other in surprise.

_Er…_

"Just… go! I have something I need to do!"

"Look, I know you _think_ I'm a jerk, but I'm not leaving you here with this thing!" He spat, midnight blue eyes furious.

Now was no time for him to decide to be suddenly chivalrous.

"Just… trust me on this! Go!" She pushed his muscular shoulders as he stood his ground, unyielding.

They were far enough away that they weren't yet in any immediate danger, but Usagi wasn't exactly trying to hang out and see how long it would take for the thing to notice them.

"Hold it right there, slimeball!" She could hear Rei yell, Minako's eyes wide as she took in the sight of an untransformed Usagi standing next to a furious Mamoru.

"I am the Agent of Love and Beauty, the pretty sailor suited soldier Sailor Venus! In the name of Love, I will punish you!"

"And I'm the Agent of Love and Fire, the pretty sailor suited soldier Sailor Mars! In the name of Mars, I will chastise you!"

"In the name of the Moon," they said simultaneously, posing back to back. "We will punish you!"

_Man, they were taking all of her good lines!_

She was furious, completely helpless and unable to transform as she stood there stuck with a stubborn and relentless Mamoru. What did he care, anyway? He'd never liked her!

"Look," she warned him, hands on her hips. "The sailor soldiers are there now, okay? So go!"

"I'm not leaving you here and that's final," he grimaced, vaguely wondering why Sailor Moon hadn't shown up. It was a good thing, though, because her transformation seemed to trigger his and that would definitely be an awkward conversation…

"Fire soul!"

"Crescent beam!"

The monster deflected the attacks, sending them in the direction of Usagi and Mamoru.

"Look out!" One of Mamoru's arms wrapped tightly around her waist, knocking her to the ground. He reached out, cradling the back of her head in his hand before it hit the ground, her eyes wide.

Had he just… saved her?

She thought of Tuxedo Kamen, how he always dove in right at the right moment to save her…

But that was their thing! What the heck was Mamoru of all people doing saving her neck? And why did she feel comforted by being in his arms?

"Usagi? Usagi, are you okay?" He shook her shoulder gently, eyebrows knitting together in concern. The sounds of a male voice in the distance piqued her interest – _maybe Tuxedo Kamen had showed up!_

Nope, just Jadeite.

"You called me Usagi," she said softly, frowning. "You _never_ call me Usagi."

"Really," he said flatly, sitting up and shaking his head. His hand still cradled the back of her head, the other draped absentmindedly over her abdomen. "That's what you choose to focus on?"

"Er… yeah, I guess," she stammered as he rolled his eyes.

In the distance she heard Minako shout triumphantly, the monster reduced to dust at their feet. She felt a momentary pang of jealousy that they had defeated this one without her help, but it was gone almost as fast as it had come. She hadn't really been in any shape to fight youma's tonight, anyway.

"Come on, odango atama," he stood, not bothering to offer her a hand to get up. She stood on her own, brushing off the front of her jeans. "I guess I'll walk you home."

"Don't hurt yourself, Chiba."


	9. 8 - Nicer than Mars

Updating a little later than I had planned originally but this week has been a little nuts… anyway, I don't own Sailor Moon. Reviews mean so much to me - thank you for those who take the time to write one!

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><p>"Quick, Mars!" Sailor Moon panted, running for her life. Why did she always end up being the decoy! Surely, she'd done her fair share and it was time for one of them to step in…<p>

She narrowly avoided the giant ball of slime the youma sent her way, diving into a forwards somersault.

"No, that's great guys, you just take your time! Don't mind me I'll just –" She collided with something hard, her face pressed against a white shirt. In a swish of red and black she was behind him, doubling over to try to catch her breath.

"Don't you have something better to do than pick on young girls?" Tuxedo Kamen spat, squaring off in front of the youma. He deflected a slime ball with his elbow, Jadeite hurling an attack from behind him. It hit the youma straight in the chest knocking it off balance as it clutched at it's burning flesh.

"Now, Sailor Moon!"

"Right!" she gasped, her compact shifting into a glistening crescent as she pressed it against her forehead. "Lunar boomerang!"

The glowing ellipsoid hurtled towards the youma, exploding it into a pile of dust.

"So," Jadeite interrupted, flashing her a coy grin. "That's what would have happened to me if Mars here hadn't seen the good in my 'beautiful green eyes'?" he smirked, draping an arm loosely around the Senshi of Fire's shoulder.

Rei's cheeks blazed. "Hey, the offer's still on the table…"she replied, the five of them laughing.

"Which brings up a point!" Usagi yelled, pointing at her two senshi. "I'm tired of being the stupid decoy! Next time, it's one of your guys' turns!"

"Well it's not like we decide ahead of time," Rei reasoned. "You usually just do something stupid that requires you to run for your life and then the thing follows you!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not, do not, do not!"

"Do too, do too, do – hey, where'd they go?"

"Lun-aaaaaaaaah," Usagi whined, pulling her arms through her long sleeved pullover. She tied the bow, snapping her compact in place.

"Oh honestly, for the Champion of Justice and what not you sure whine a great deal," the violet cat scolded, pointing to something on the bed. "Take this with you today. I have a strong feeling we're close to finding the next sailor soldier."

What looked like a bright green 4 shone on the cover of a pink rose-shaped compact, the sign of Jupiter. "Sailor Jupiter?" she asked curiously, slipping the compact into her pocket. "I hope she's nicer than Rei!"

"Yes, because that's the first thing we look for in potential Sailor Soldiers…"

"So she said we might be close to finding Sailor Jupiter?" Minako whispered, fiddling with the large red bow in her lemon blonde hair. "Did she say where? Or how? Or what she looks like?"

"No. But she did scold me when I said I hoped she was nicer than Rei," Usagi grumbled, Minako giggling quietly beside her.

Ms. Haruna glared suspiciously at them from her desk but didn't say anything.

"I bet she's really tough. Jupiter's supposed to be the planet of courage, you know."

"So then maybe she won't mind being the decoy…" Usagi beamed. "Then I can pull a Tuxedo Kamen and swoop in at just the right moment with my –"

"Tsukino, Aino, silent reading implies an absence of talking," Ms. Haruna called out through clenched teeth. "Do not make me remind you again."

The girls buried their heads into their books, lasting five minutes in silence before the urge to carry on the conversation was too great.

"There's supposed to be four of us, right? So if this is Jupiter then we'll be a complete team..."

Usagi nodded, glancing at Ms. Haruna out of the corner of her eye before responding. "Exactly. But then what? Luna thinks once all of us are together this Princess will appear but it seems a little far-fetched –"

"That's it! I've had it with you two! Tsukino, Aino, out in the hallway!"

The two girls hung their heads, cheeks colored pink as they trudged slowly out to the hallway, Ms. Haruna hot on their trail. The door slammed behind her and she descended on them, hands on her hips.

"Honestly, you two talk like you can afford to! Well it'd be one thing if you were pulling grades like Umino or Naru, but both of you are just barely scraping by! So, you can stand out here for the rest of the period. Whatever was so interesting I hope you get it out of your system, because if I hear so much as a peep from the two of you next period you're going straight to the principals!"

She stormed off, slamming the classroom door behind her.

"Geez, she could have at least let us bring our lunches out here…"

"Just imagine if she knew she'd basically just called two of Tokyo's masked hero's failures and yelled at them," Minako whispered. The two slid slowly down the wall, sitting on the cold tile. "I mean… what if she crushed our spirits and we were never able to battle again?"

Usagi elbowed her in the ribcage, only just noticing the lone girl sitting across from them. Thankfully she seemed to be in her own world, and oblivious to what Minako had just said.

"Ah, hi," Usagi offered tentatively, waving politely. The girl looked to be about their age but significantly taller. Her matching uniform indicated she was the same age as them, although she wore her skirt much longer, the hem skimming mid-calf. Her long chestnut hair was pulled into a messy high ponytail, her wispy bangs framing bright green eyes.

"Hi," she replied flatly, frowning at her hands. She waited for the two girls to start whispering amongst one another, but the two blondes just stared back at her with kind smiles.

"Er, you guys aren't scared of me?" She looked genuinely surprised.

Minako just shrugged. "I don't know… should we be?"

"I uh… had a reputation at my old school," the girl explained sheepishly. "For fighting. But it was always provoked, I swear! I didn't pick fights or anything," she added quickly, waiting for the look of judgment and fear she was so used to from girls like them.

"Are you scared of us? We have a reputation for uh… flunking tests," Minako giggled, earning her first genuine smile from the girl across from them.

"Is that why you're out in the hallway?"

Usagi blushed, scratching the back of her head. "Um… it may have something to do with us talking instead of reading… why are you out here?"

"One of the guys in my class thought it would be funny to pull on my ponytail…" she trailed off, looking slightly chagrined. "He's uh… in the nurses office."

The two girls looked at her with slight alarm.

"I didn't do anything! Well not really, anyway. Just sort of kicked his shin a little…"

"Ah, Usagi, that's no worse than anything you've done to Mamoru!" Minako teased, sticking her tongue out at Usagi.

"Mamoru? Is that your boyfriend?" the girl questioned, smiling at them.

"Ew, as if! Just this jerk who I always run into who always makes fun of my hair!"

"Sounds like he has a crush on you!"

"That's what I always say!" Minako jumped in, gesturing emphatically.

"You two are _both_ delusional if you think that! We are mortal enemies!"

"Yeah yeah… anyway, I'm Aino Minako, but you can call me Mina. This is Tsukino Usagi!"

"Nice to meet you both," the girl smiled genuinely. "I'm Kino Makoto, and I just moved here from –"

"Alright, that's it! I did _not_ send the two of you out here to talk endlessly! Aino, sit there, Tsukino over there!"

"We always go to the arcade after school," Usagi beamed, dragging Makoto along with them. "Motoki works there. He's super nice and sweet and not a jerk at all like Mamoru!"

"So when did you move here, Mako?" The girl looked to her in surprise, Usagi's cheeks flushing. "Er, I can call you that, right?"

"Yeah," the girl grinned in earnest, her own cheeks flushing. "I've never had a nickname before. It's nice…"

"Hang around with us a little longer and they'll lose their appeal, _trust_ me," Minako grinned, winking at the tall brunette.

"Guess we'll see. Anyway, I moved here about a week ago… I needed to get away from my old school and it was between Juuban where my aunt lived and America with my cousin."

"Wow!" Minako gasped, looking to Makoto with starry eyes. "America?! How could you turn down something as cool as that? They have Hollywood, afterall!"

"Not in Idaho they don't," the brunette winked, earning perplexed looks from both of the girls.

_I really need to pay better attention in World Geography…_

"Besides, I can't explain it. It's like something drew me here… and as soon as I got here I knew I made the right decision."

They stepped through the automatic glass doors, Usagi groaning as she took in a familiar shape leaning against the counter.

"Hey, is that the guy you were talking about earlier –"

Usagi hastily clapped a hand over Makoto's mouth, trying to shut her up but the damage had already been done.

"What's that, odango, have you been talking about me to your friends?"

"As if, creep! I just told her who she should stay away from in this town!"

"So then what's she doing hanging around with you?"

"Why do you always have to be everywhere I am!"

"Why do _you_ always have to be everywhere _I_ am?!"

"Well… I got here first!"

"No you didn't," he shouted exasperatedly. "I've been here for the past hour talking to Motoki!"

"What would Motoki be doing hanging around with a creep like you, huh?"

"Usagi, Mamoru and I are friends," Motoki interrupted, looking between the two of them with an exasperated look. "We go to Uni together."

"Well… well… ugh, whatever! I don't have time for your childish ways, Mamoru," she sniffed, giving him the cold shoulder as she sat down on one of the tall swivel stools.

"Where's your new friend, Kaidou, anyway? Already get sick of you?"

"Actually, he's off on a date," he smirked at her. "With _your_ friend, Rei."

Usagi's jaw practically fell to the ground. So that's why she hadn't turned up to meet them!

What a traitor.

Mamoru started to gather up his stuff, throwing back the last bit of his coffee. "Well as pleasant as your company always is, odango, some of us are actually trying to pass our exams. I'm off to study – later," he nodded to Motoki, Usagi absolutely fuming.

"Like I care where you're going!"

"Oh you two _sooooo_ like each other!" Makoto gushed, staring after his retreating figure. "I mean, how could you not? He's so handsome. He looks kinda like my ex-boyfriend…"

"Oh, if you believe that then you are crazy, Makoto."

"You know," Minako began, raising her index finger. "Sometimes the heart sees what is invincible to the eyes."

"Er, I think it's invisible, actually," Makoto held back a laugh, biting the corner of her lip.

Minako just shrugged, unperturbed. "I've heard it both ways."

"No you haven't," Usagi teased, Minako glaring. "Yours doesn't even make any sense!"

Suddenly the arcade fell deadly quiet, all the machines shutting off at once. Motoki frowned, glancing around the semi-dark space.

"That's weird… I know I paid the electricity bill…"


	10. 9 - Lightning Round

Yay, Jupiter! From here, the storyline really starts to unfold. I've written up to chapter 25… although there's something in chapter 23 that's bothering me that I'm planning to go back and change. Anyway, is anyone watching Sailor Moon Crystal? And if so, did you see the episode from this past weekend? OMG it literally broke my heart. If you saw it and want to discuss message me! Hehe. Anyway, happy holidays and thanks for reading :)

Suddenly a girl in one of the booths started to scream, her eyes rolling back into her head as a red glow surrounded her. Her body started to contort, the limbs stretching and bending uncomfortably as she morphed into a terrifying, spider shaped youma.

"What the –" Motoki gasped, the color draining from his face.

The spider shot webs in all directions, Usagi pulling Minako and Makoto to the ground with her. She shared a silent lookwith Minako, clutching onto Makoto's arm. They would have to transform… in front of Makoto. Other wise all these people… it was the only way…

The people around them started to fall, the webs wrapping around their unconscious bodies to bind their limbs and cover their eyes.

"Makoto, no!" Usagi gasped, lunging forward to try to pull her friend back. She fell forward, grasping at air as the brunette aimed a martial arts kick at the grotesque spider. She caught it by surprise, her flat leaving a red imprint across its cheek.

The rose shaped compact in Usagi's pocket thrummed softly.

The spider retaliated quickly, kicking out one of its many legs and hitting her cleanly across the face, her head turning back as she flew across the room. Minako gasped and tugged on Usagi's arm as a green mark shone brightly on Makoto's forehead before she crashed to the ground in front of them.

"Makoto!" she called out, sliding the compact across to her. The girl picked it up, looking back at Usagi in confusion.

"What does this have to do with –"

"We'll explain later! Throw it into the air and say Jupiter Thunder Power, Make-up!"

Makoto just shrugged, doing as Usagi said. At least she'd been faster to catch on than Rei had.

"Jupiter Thunder Power –"

"Venus Love Power –"

"Moon Prism Power –"

"MAKE-UP!"

Once they had all three transformed, Makoto took a moment to look over her new outfit skeptically. Her skirt and sailor collar were a deep forest green, coordinating boots lacing up to mid-shin. Both of her bows were a soft pink that matched her rose crystal earrings and compact. A dainty chain of pink roses hung low on her hips, a small orb filled with pale pink rose petals in the center. The bright green symbol of Jupiter glowed on her forehead as she looked back at the girls in obvious surprise.

"Cool!" she shouted cheerfully, demeanor changing as she turned to face the youma with a serious look on her face. "I don't know who you think you are, but I am the Agent of Love and Courage, the pretty sailor suited soldier Sailor Jupiter! In the name of Jupiter, I will punish you! Supreme Thunder!"

A condensed ball of lightning formed between her gloved hands, delivering a steady electric shock to the youma as she threw it with deadly accuracy. The spiders swollen body flashed, Usagi gasping as she caught a glimpse of the girl trapped inside.

"You have to be careful! That youma is a girl – you need to weaken her so Sailor Moon can heal her." Luna's voice shouted, Makoto's eyes going wide. "Sailor Jupiter, I am so happy you're here!"

Makoto just shrugged, grinning at the violet cat. "Hey you know, after everything else that's happened today, a talking cat doesn't seem to be the strangest thing."

"Love-me chain!" The delicate chain unwound from Mina's waist, spiraling around her before wrapping around the youma. It shrieked, fighting in vain against the confines of the chain.

"Now, Sailor Moon!"

She pressed the crescent wand to her forehead, eyes fluttering closed as she focused all of her energy inward. "Moon healing escalation!"

The youma peeled away, leaving the girl lying unconscious on the floor in its place. So now they were using innocent humans to turn into their horrible monsters?

"Ugh, that is low even for them!" Minako shouted, running to the girl's side to check for a pulse. A bright red orb of energy hovered above her lifeless form, glowing eerily in the dark arcade.

Several things happened at once. With a loud snap a figure Usagi recognized instantly to be a Dark Kingdom General appeared, his eyes clouded with the same icy glow Jadeite's had previously held. He was dressed in the same manner Jadeite had been, although his uniform was lined with dark emerald green. His long mahogany air fanned behind him as he leapt to the floor beside the girl, grabbing the red orb in his hand.

"No!" Makoto yelled, throwing herself in his path. She crashed right into him, the two rolling before he pinned her, hand on her throat.

"Jupiter!" Usagi gasped, clasping her hands together in relief as Tuxedo Kamen jumped through the window.

"Oh Tuxedo Kamen, you came –"

He caught the red orb easily, kneeling beside the fallen girl. Her chest began to rise shakily as he returned the orb of energy to her, dusting off his hands as he stood.

"Sailor Moon," he began in a serious tone, glancing over to where Makoto struggled. "Nephrite is the next General sent by the Dark Kingdom. He is one of the Shitennou and will be a formidable opponent. You must heal him."

She clutched her elbows, tightly hugging her middle. Why was he being so cold to her?

"Tuxedo Kamen, you'll stay and help us… right?" She asked hopefully, taking a step towards him. He flinched, turning his head.

"When it is in my favor, yes. But remember we fight for different things and a day may come where we have to go against one another," he said firmly, looking away as the color drained from her cheeks. As wrong as it felt he couldn't turn his back on his destiny, and ultimately if they were both after the same thing, she would end up being his opponent.

With that he leapt for the window, casting a glance back at her before he disappeared.

"Get. Off. Of. Me." Jupiter gasped, looking up into his cold eyes. Still though, amidst the icy blue there was something familiar… something comforting…

Suddenly he let go of his own accord, straightening out his coat as he stood. He looked down at her with disdain, hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"Next time I won't be so kind," he replied icily.

"Moon healing –"

"Ha, as if!" he laughed sarcastically, snapping his fingers and disappearing before she could finish.

"Basement. Now." Luna said quickly as the people around them started to stir. The three Soldiers and the violet cat slipped unseen down the secret staircase under the Sailor V game, Jupiter still trying to catch her breath as she massaged her throat.

"Makoto?" Usagi said softly, placing a hand tentatively on the brunette warrior's shoulder. "Makoto are you okay?"

"Yeah… just a little shaken up. Who was that guy, anyway?"

"He's a General from the Dark Kingdom," Minako explained, throwing herself into one of the computer chairs. "They try to collect energy from humans usually, only this time was different. They actually turned that girl into a monster and he only seemed interested in her energy, not everyone else's… Artemis?"

The white cat nodded, tapping the computer screen with his paws. A moment later Sailor Mars hurried down the stairs, glaring at Usagi.

"You could have called me on the communicator, you know!"

"Didn't have a whole lot of time, considering we had a new Sailor Soldier, a giant spider, an arcade full of unconscious people, oh, and a pissed off Dark Kingdom General!" She shouted back, Mars having the decency to look remorseful.

"Not to mention Tuxedo Kamen refusing to –"

"Don't say it!" Usagi warned Minako, pointing a finger at the blonde Soldier of Venus. The glared at each other, Minako placing her hands on her hips in defiance.

"Well it's true! He just swoops in to tell you Nephrite is a Shitennou, then says he's not going to help and that eventually we'll be his opponents and leaves! Meanwhile, one of his freaking Shitennou-whatever turned Dark Kingdom creep was choking the heck out of our newest recruit!"

"He saved that girl," Usagi whispered, looking away. It was hard to listen to Minako put a voice to all of her fears, to hear them confirmed. If it came down to it could she really go up against Tuxedo Kamen?

"Usagi," Minako sighed, backing off and placing a hand on her friends shoulder. "I'm sorry to be harsh but we have our own mission to follow and we can't stray from it because of him. If someone is after the same thing we are then they are a natural enemy, just like the dark kingdom."

"Sailor Jupiter," Makoto interrupted shyly, extending a hand to Mars. "Kino Makoto, normally."

"Sailor Mars," Rei beamed back, shaking her hand with earnest. "Hino Rei. Nice to have someone else with some brains around here –"

"HEY!" Usagi and Minako yelled together, sticking their tongues out at Rei.

"That's enough!" Luna shouted, pressing her paw to the crescent mark on her forehead. "Honestly, the constant bickering is going to be the death of me! And all of you, if you're not careful! Now, we need to focus on our mission. They've upped their game, and we have to as well!"

"Right!" Usagi nodded fiercely, trying to push aside her feelings about Tuxedo Kamen to focus on the task at hand.

"We need to concentrate our search on the Phantom Silver Crystal. It has great powers – it can save the world, or destroy an entire planet in seconds. Falling into the wrong hands would be catastrophic," Luna continued somberly. The four girls nodded seriously, Usagi frowning as she looked down at her gloved hands.

"Agreed, but how do we protect something that we can't find?" The notion seemed impossible to her.

"I don't know. The only thing I can take comfort in is that the enemy seems no closer to finding it then we are."

"And we're not alone. Tuxedo Kamen seems to be after the same thing," Artemis added.

"What?" Usagi faltered, staring at him blankly. "How do you know?"

"Because, I've been keeping tabs on him. There's not much information to find but… that seems to be his purpose and he said as much today. You need to be careful! You can't trust him." Artemis scolded sternly.

"He's never tried to hurt us, though," she argued stubbornly. "He's only ever helped us."

"For now we'll agree to disagree. In the mean time, we have a lot to catch Jupiter up on."

"Which reminds me!" Luna interrupted, sliding a gold bracelet across to Makoto. A golden circle was in the center, four smaller circles of red, green, blue, and yellow in the center. "This is your communicator, Sailor Jupiter. To be used for _official _Sailor Soldier business, _only_," she emphasized, giving Minako and Usagi a warning look.

"Hey, listen, for two years until you two showed up it was just us on the scene, alright?" Minako replied, crossing her arms.

"Gee, it's a wonder Tokyo's still standing at all…" Rei snickered, Luna shooting a warning glance at all three of them.

"Now, we need a plan…"

…

"So, what is this silver crystal thing, anyway?" Kaidou interrupted, sifting through a bowl of noodles with mismatched chopsticks. "It was mentioned in the Dark Kingdom too, but they were hazy with the details. Sounds like a gawdy bookweight."

"Ha ha. I have no idea, honestly," Mamoru frowned, sifting his fingers through his hair. "I think that if I find it, it will give me the answers to the princess in my dream… somehow that just seems to make sense."

Kaidou just nodded, unable to reply with a mouth full of noodles. He swallowed, gesturing with his chopsticks. "So we're going after that now? What about the Sailor Soldiers? I can't see them willingly handing something like that over."

Mamoru shrugged. "We'll help them to get rid of the Dark Kingdom threat, but as soon as the crystal appears we grab it and get out of there."

"You make it sound so simple. I've seen the way you look at Sailor Moon," he teased, elbowing Mamoru in the ribs. "You think you'd be able to swipe it from her so easily?"

"If it comes to that… yes," Mamoru replied determinedly, leaning against the glass door to the balcony. He fixed his gaze on the full moon, a sense of calamity washing over him. Destiny was destiny – he couldn't let anything or anyone get in the way of that.

Kaidou nodded again, taking another bite of his noodles.

"Nephrite was there…" he continued, Kaidou's interest piquing.

"He'll be a tough opponent," Kaidou sighed, setting down the bowl. "He's cunning and ruthless in battle, but at the same time his overconfidence and arrogance can be his biggest downfall."

Mamoru simply nodded, waiting for him to continue.

The blonde man frowned, tugging on his hair. "It feels weird to be fighting against them. But, right now he's not really Nephrite, as Beryl's shadow has taken over his soul and corrupted him. Our only hope is for Sailor Moon to heal him as she did me."

_Somehow_, Mamoru exhaled, _we are always inexplicably tied together. It will make this new betrayal of her more difficult._ _For the greater good_, he sighed, shaking his head.

Man, and most guys his age thought college was difficult.


	11. 10 - Night at the Museum

I've really been trying to stick to my Tuesday updating schedule, so I apologize for the very late update! Been a lot going on with the holidays and such, but I will update today and again on Tuesday so it's like two updates in a row :). Hope you like the story so far and please review!

* * *

><p>"It's been raining for days," Minako sighed, staring gloomily out the window. Beside her Usagi nodded, resting her elbows on the windowsill. Raindrops trailed down the double paned glass, weaving around each other until they ended in a puddle on the windowsill. Lightning flashed across the dark grey sky ever now and again, the loud booms of thunder causing Minako and Usagi to jump each time.<p>

"I know and the thunder and lightning… I hate it," Usagi shuddered, tracing the trajectory of a raindrop along the windowpane.

"But Makoto uses thunder and lightning attacks all the time," Minako tried to reason uncertainly.

"I know… but somehow that's different. This is just scary." She jumped as another clap of thunder sounded, lightning splitting the sky. Minako and her huddled together until it passed, laughing shakily after the fact.

And so it continued. It rained through the weekend, blocking any chance they had to do anything. At least it meant she didn't have to deal with Mamoru – her dad had driven her to school all week to avoid the rain. Ms. Haruna had nearly had a heart attack when she'd been on time five days in a row.

"…and today expect heavy traffic delays while Tokyo police step up security tenfold in light of the crystal gem exhibit at the Juuban Historical Museum…"

Usagi glanced up from her cereal, Luna straightening up beside her. She waited until her mother was out of earshot before whispering, "Crystal gem exhibit? Maybe we should check it out…"

Luna nodded. "Exactly what I was thinking, although it's nice to hear it from you. Thinking about the mission, waking up early… you're starting to shape into a real leader, Usagi," the cat beamed proudly, licking Usagi's hand.

"Yeah, yeah… now, more importantly, what on earth am I going to wear?"

Begrudgingly, and after much convincing, Luna had allowed her and Minako to use their disguise pens.

"Rei and Makoto will be ready as back-up," she reiterated firmly. "You are to have your communicators and broaches with you, understood?"

They nodded distractedly, eyeing themselves in Minako's mirror. Usagi wore a figure hugging, strapless black dress that fell to the floor, Swarovski crystals embellishing the bodice. Minako's metallic gold gown was completely backless, the slinky material pooling around her feet. Her hair had been twisted into a sophisticated chignon, while Usagi's remained in its signature style, accentuated by crystal ornaments in her hair.

She hardly recognized herself.

They slipped into the exhibit easily, blending in among the other glamorous people and splitting up to search the different exhibits. The rooms were dark, small lights illuminating each of the gems' brilliant colors as tiny prisms danced around.

Everything was beautiful, but so far nothing stuck out as out of the ordinary…

"If it's there, you'll know it immediately," Luna had assured her. Everything on display was beautiful, sure, but nothing screamed "I hold the power to destroy planets and save the entire world!"

"Fancy seeing you here," a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts, a blush creeping to her cheeks. Did he recognize her?

He winked at her through his mask, admiring the pale pink crystal illuminated in front of them.

She turned, smiling coyly. "Shh, Tuxedo Kamen you'll blow my cover." He laughed softly, placing a hand on her lower back. "They're beautiful, aren't they?"

He shrugged, midnight blue eyes burning into hers. "Perhaps. I hadn't really noticed."

"Oh?" she managed to squeak in reply, their noses inches apart. Somehow the darkness of the room intensified the tension between them.

Was this a dream? It sure felt like one…

For a moment she thought he might kiss her. The next thing she knew he had stepped back, casting a glance around the room.

"Find me later," was all he said, disappearing into the darkness.

Her heart thumped in her chest, beating out an erratic rhythm as she tried to figure out what exactly had just happened.

"Right," she murmured to herself, smoothing out her dress as she stepped into the next room, trying to get a grip on herself. "Focus, Usagi."

Pale blue gems greeted her, casting an eerie glow around the room. A shiver traveled down her spine as she gave the room a quick look over, more than happy to head back to the soft pinks of the room before.

A hand brushed against her waist as she stiffened and shivered again. The darkness was getting to her.

So soon?

Before she could turn around to look a hand clamped over her mouth firmly, the other wrapping around her waist and dragging her towards the exit to the balcony.

"Mmph!" she struggled, his grip on her iron-like. Once outside he slammed the door, the sound of a lock clicking into place making her stomach drop.

"So, you had the same idea I had, did you?" Nephrite's cold voice interrupted her train of thought, lips curved into an arrogant smirk as he leaned against the balcony rail.

"Wh-I don't know what you're talking about," she feigned, stiffening as he laughed coldly.

"Don't play me for an idiot, I know who you are, Sailor Moon." He spoke her name as if it were an insult. "You're searching for the crystal."

She balked, feeling vulnerable. How did he… how could he…

"Stupid girl, you thought you could match up to me? Your misjudgment leads to your death. Don't worry, I'll make it quick. You'll hardly feel a thing… perhaps."

Without warning he shot a stream of black lightning at her, sending her diving out of its trajectory. She rolled, groaning as she pushed herself to her feet. Tiny crystals from her dress littered the balcony floor, the hem of her dress in tatters. He just laughed, going after her again.

"Your little friend is inside, am I correct? She won't be alive for much longer… the gem she's examining is one I swapped out… as soon as her fingers touch it her energy will be completely depleted and she will turn into a monster!"

"No," she gasped, dodging him again. "Why target one person when you guys usually just go for the whole room?"

"Ha! Jadeite's tactics. Foolish. You can see how well those worked out for him. I use the stars to find those at their maximum energy potential – one person at their peak energy is stronger than a whole room full of regular people!"

She lunged at him, catching him by surprise as she rammed into him with all her strength, knocking him off balance and to the balcony floor.

He stood up easily, glaring daggers at her as he brushed off his coat. "You'll pay for that. Now you've angered me…"

He advanced towards her, backing her up to the railing until there was nowhere else for her to go. She tried to reach for her compact but he caught her wrist in his hand, grip vice-like.

"Well, it's been fun… goodbye, Sailor Moon," he said simply, shoving her over the edge of the balcony. She pressed her eyes shut as she started to fall, reaching her hand out for something, anything…

A gloved hand reached out and grabbed her wrist from one of the lower balconies, Tuxedo Kamen leaning over the railing above her.

"I've got you… don't let go," he panted, gripping the stone railing with his other hand.

"Okay," she whispered, hand shaking. She clutched his hand as tight as she could, trying her best not to cry.

"I mean it, Sailor Moon," he said gently, offering her a strained smile. "Don't go pulling some Titanic crap on me, okay?"

"Promise," she grinned, eyes widening as a shadow cast over Tuxedo Kamen. "Tuxedo Kamen, watch out!"

"Even better, two for the price of one," Nephrite's voice cut through.

Suddenly they were falling together, arms wrapped around each other as they hurtled to the ground…

No! She wouldn't let that happen, she couldn't!

She clutched her compact in her hand, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Please, by the power of the moon, help us," she whispered. The compact glowed bright white in her hand as they slowed, a soft shimmering glow surrounding them as they landed softly on their feet.

"You saved me," he smiled sheepishly, nodding his head to her. Then with a flash of his cape, he was gone.

No, Tuxedo Kamen, it is you who is always saving me…

"Usagi!" Sailor Mars sprinted over to her, eyes wide as she clutched the blondes upper arms and looked her over frantically. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, snapping out of her Tuxedo Kamen induced haze. "Mmhm, I'm fine." As she looked from a relieved Mars to Jupiter a thought crossed her that caused her stomach to drop. "Minako's still inside! We've got to get in there before it's too late! Moon prism power MAKE-UP!"

Once transformed she clutched the moon stick in her hand, fury raging through her. She would track down Nephrite personally and make him pay for this.

Well, before she healed him anyway.

"Sailor Moon kick!" she yelled, knocking the door down with ease.

"Nice," Makoto gave her a two finger salute, winking. Usagi blushed, brushing off her shoulder in response.

"Nephrite!" she yelled, hands on her hips as she scoured the room for him. A flash of gold caught her eye and she ran to Minako, falling to her knees beside her.

"Mina-chan, Mina can you hear me?" the blonde lay unconscious on the floor, the crescent sign flickering bright yellow between her bangs.

"She didn't turn into a youma because her power is too strong," Usagi murmured, sighing in relief. She placed a gloved hand on Minako's cheek, a single tear forming in the corner of her eye as she pressed her forehead to hers.

A loud cracking noise caused her to jump as Nephrite grabbed Minako in his arms and sprinted for the door.

"Sailor Venus!" She heard Jupiter call, Usagi jumping to her feet. Rage flashed across her pretty features, eyes deadly.

Usagi tore past them, channeling all her inner strength to run as fast as she could. Years of being late and sprinting to school were apparently about to pay off. Her pale hair trailed behind her, catching the moonlight as she ran. Minako was her best friend, her other half and like hell would she let the Dark Kingdom steal her energy! Mars and Jupiter raced after her, trying to keep up.

She shot her lunar boomerang at him, the golden disc grazing his shoulder as he tried to dodge it.

"You'll have to do better than that!" Any attack she sent at him could potentially harm Minako too, however, so she had to proceed cautiously.

She had to find a way to distract him, to get him to take the bait… Artemis had said he was fierce but arrogant, and she could use it against him.

Hang on, Minako…

"Nephrite!" she yelled, chasing after the dark haired General. "You won't get away with this!" The soles of her pink boots pressed on, a triumphant smile gracing her mouth as he fell for the bait.

"Oh?" The over-confident man sneered, turning lazily to face her. "Says who?"

"Me!"

He laughed cruelly, icy eyes blazing. "You and what army?"

"This one!" Jupiter appeared at her right shoulder, Mars at her left.

"I am Sailor Moon!"

"Sailor Jupiter!"

"And Sailor Mars!"

"And in the name of the Moon," Usagi continued as he raised an eyebrow at them. "We will punish you!"

"I'm shaking in my boots, really." He dropped Mina unceremoniously on the ground, her head hitting the pavement. Usagi kneeled beside her, letting her head rest in her lap as she moved her blonde hair from her eyes. Makoto stood defensively in front of them, Mars flanking her side.

He flung a ball of lightning straight at Jupiter, but she easily deflected it and hurled it back towards him.

"You've got a lot of nerve using lightning on me, Nephrite," she challenged, crossing her arms. The street lamp cast an eerie glow between them, the rest of the street shrouded in darkness.

He glared at her murderously, a figure on the rooftop nearby catching his eye. "Jadeite?" He faltered, distracted briefly from the girls in front of him. "Is that… Is that really you?"

Jadeite stepped forward from the shadows, Tuxedo Kamen at his shoulder. Nephrite glared, hands forming into fists at his side. "Traitor!" He yelled, Jadeite flinching slightly at his words.

"No, my friend, it is you right now who is the traitor."

He closed his eyes, focusing all of his energy on the man below him, rooting him to his spot with invisible ropes.

"Jadeite!" he roared, furiously trying to move. "Stop that at once!"

The sandy blonde nodded grimly to Sailor Mars, who gathered a fireball between her gloved hands.

"Burning mandala!" She called out, Nephrite unable to dodge the fiery orbs.

"Supreme thunder!" Makoto yelled, the green lightning extending from her palms and surrounding him as he writhed in agony.

Supreme sundae? Usagi looked at Makoto perplexed, clutching Minako close as her stomach grumbled. Mmm a sundae sounded good…

He collapsed, Makoto falling instantly to catch him, his head resting in her lap.

"No…," she whispered hoarsely, her gloved hand reaching out of it's own will to brush the hair from his eyes. His grey eyes were soft, catching hers for a moment before falling closed.

"Moon healing escalation!" Sailor Moon's voice broke Makoto's trance, a soft shower of glitter covering the unconscious Nephrite and Minako. Makoto leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his as she sobbed quietly, clutching the collar of his coat between her hands.

For some strange reason, it felt like déjà vu.

A shadow was wrenched from his chest, caught in a spiral of glitter before it shattered, the pieces evaporating. A small emerald stone landed on the ground in front of him. Between his bangs, the outline of a green inverted triangle with a horizontal line cutting just above the point glowed on his forehead.

"The alchemy symbol for earth," Mars whispered.

Makoto clutched his hand between hers as Tuxedo Kamen and Jadeite landed on either side of her, kneeling around the unconscious General.

"We'll take it from here," Jadeite replied coolly, a half-smile forming on his lips as he looked down at Nephrite. "Good to have you back, friend."

Makoto glared at the two of them, Mars flanking her instantly. Sailor Moon kept her arms securely around Minako, looking to Tuxedo Kamen with troubled eyes. She waited for something, anything in his stare that would tell her if he was still on her side.

For a moment it looked like he might reach for her, but he stopped himself, leaning down instead to pull up the battered Nephrite from the ground.

It was something, at least, and for now it was enough.


	12. 11 - Ice Cream and Black Coffee

I liked how in the Sailor V manga she charged her compact every night by placing it in the moonlight. So I'm totally using it. Also, how cool would it be if the people who are doing the Sailor Moon Crystal anime did the Sailor V anime as well? It so deserves it's own badass anime. And there's so much cool back story in there… just saying. Anyway, enjoy! Reviews are always appreciated.

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><p>"And I presume you're not going to give us the Phantom Silver Crystal?" Jadeite asked coldly, glancing down at Sailor Jupiter. He tapped his foot impatiently as she pretended to consider his request<p>

"Oh, yeah sure…" Rei began, rolling her eyes. "Over our dead bodies!"

"For now, we'll agree to disagree… let's just hope it doesn't come to that, hm?" Jadeite smirked, winking in Mars' direction. "Mars, a pleasure as always."

Rei faltered, her cheeks flushing pink. Before she could come up with a retort, however, the three men had disappeared.

"Oh sometimes… sometimes…" she started, stomping her red high heel in frustration.

Usagi just patted her fiery friends shoulder, exchanging a knowing glance. "I know. Come on… let's go get some ice cream."

"What was that about?" Minako asked, her gold eyes bright and strength returned.

Usagi frowned, Artemis' words from earlier cutting into her thoughts. Was it really possible that they could have to go up against Tuxedo Kamen? "They think we have the crystal, I suppose."

"Right, like we'd just hand it to them if we did. Honestly, what do they take us for? I mean we're pretty but we're not dumb." Jupiter pulled her up gently, Minako waving her hand over her compact to lose the lunar pen disguise. She linked her arms through Makoto and Usagi's, smiling brightly. "Did someone say ice cream?"

Giggling, the four of them pushed through the doors of the crown arcade and sat at the counter, batting their eyelashes at Motoki. He laughed, shaking his head as he leaned on the countertop.

"Let me guess… two vanillas with chocolate sauce, and a triple fudge sundae with extra cherries and whipped cream for Usagi and Minako to share."

"Each," Minako replied in a sing-song, banging her fists on the counter. Motoki looked back at her with wide eyes as she shrugged, resting her chin on her hands. "Motoki, I almost died tonight. I earned this."

Rei elbowed her sharply in the side, rolling her eyes as Motoki disappeared into the kitchen. "Tell the whole world, why don't you?"

"Oh shush, it's not like he has any idea what we're talking about." Her eyes went wide as saucers as Motoki placed a large ice cream sundae in front of her, her eyes practically forming into hearts as she gazed back lovingly at him. Usagi attacked her own sundae with equal gusto, chocolate sauce peppering her lips.

"Gosh, Motoki, you sure know the way to a girls heart," Minako gushed, taking a large and rather unladylike bite of her sundae. He laughed and leaned forward to dab the chocolate from the corner of her mouth with a napkin as Minako's heart nearly stopped. She blushed, pausing to flutter her long eyelashes before diving back into her ice cream.

They chatted lightly with him until he was called away by another customer, the chilling events of the evening all but forgotten. The only one who seemed out of sorts still was Makoto, who stared blankly at the cash register while she swirled her now melted ice cream around the dish with her spoon.

"Mako-chan," Usagi interrupted gently, twirling her stool around to face her stormy friend. "Are you okay?"

The thunder senshi jumped slightly, shaken from her thoughts by Usagi's interruption. She smiled sheepishly, pushing her dish away from her. "Sorry, I guess I was just lost in my own thoughts there. Do you think…" she frowned, biting one of her nails absentmindedly. "Do you think Nephrite's okay?"

"I don't know… I mean, did you see that attack I blasted him with?" Rei replied confidently, flipping her hair. "I was pretty badass, if I do say so myself."

Usagi elbowed her sharply in the side, Rei's glare softening when she saw the look on Makoto's face. Usagi thought back to the way Makoto had reacted when he'd fallen, the tears that had streamed down her face and the way she'd clutched his collar.

"I don't know why, but I felt this overwhelming sadness. Like it was something that had happened before," she began, crossing her arms. "It's weird, I've never even seen him before. But I felt it that day he tried to strangle me and I think he did too. Right before he let go his eyes sort of shifted and they were green and so sad… does that make any sense?"

Rei nodded solemnly, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's how I felt when we defeated Jadeite."

"But you're dating Kaidou!" Minako gasped, Rei's cheeks flushing as she smiled sheepishly. "You can't have two guys when I have none! I am the –"

"Goddess of Love, we know," the three girls replied in unison, giggling as Minako crossed her arms and pouted.

"I thought it was obvious that Kaidou was Jadeite," Usagi grinned, Makoto looking at her in obvious surprise. "You weren't here yet, Mako. But basically he appeared out of nowhere a few days after we defeated him and looks identical to him and had an obvious crush on Rei."

"Ooh, I see," Makoto grinned slyly, flicking Rei on the shoulder. "So then have you told him you're Sailor Mars?"

Rei scoffed, pushing her away. "Of course not. I'm not an idiot!"

"Then that's like dating two guys, Rei! Have you kissed him?" Rei's cheeks turned a bright red as she took a hurried bite of her ice cream to stall for time.

"A lady never kisses and tells," she snipped, waving off Minako dismissively.

"Well then you shouldn't have any problems," Makoto replied teasingly, the three of them laughing as Rei glared back huffily.

Usagi laughed so hard it hurt, clutching her stomach gleefully as she leaned her head on Minako's shoulder. So much of their lives these days was filled with despair and dictated by destiny that it felt good to just sit around and laugh.

The ice cream didn't hurt either.

…

"You look like shit," Jadeite greeted his long-haired friend, just barely dodging the hand that swatted towards the back of his head.

"Yeah, well, you could have prevented them from using me for target practice, you know," he frowned, rubbing his burned arm. It was healing, slowly but surely, Mamoru's weird gold hand trick working a whole lot faster then anything the doctors would have prescribed.

"Actually, we couldn't," Mamoru sighed, handing him a cup of coffee. Despite only just meeting, he felt like he had known him his whole life. And suddenly, with Jadeite and Nephrite's presence, his once empty and silent apartment was beginning to feel a lot less like a prison.

"Oh?" he quirked, taking a sip of the black liquid. "Ack, Mamoru, this is hideous. Normal people take sugar and milk, you know."

"To each their own," he murmured, sipping his own black coffee. "Anyway, they have to weaken you before they can heal you. The shadow Beryl used to possess you was too strong – it would have fought off any chance to be exorcised."

"Fair enough," he replied distractedly, the last image in his mind before he'd blacked out still haunting him. Beautiful emerald eyes swimming with tears, his collar clutched within her small gloved hands. He'd been through it before, but when? And why?

"She'll send Zoisite next, right?" Jadeite questioned, Nephrite nodding in agreement. "Kunzite's the strongest of us, so she'll save him for last in a final attempt. I know that technically we're not on the same side as the Sailor Senshi, but we're going to have to help them in order to get Zoisite and Kunzite back. They're too strong."

Mamoru just nodded, refilling his coffee cup. "Besides," he added, "it's not like we have any leads on where this thing is. If the Dark Kingdom had it we'd know it by now, for sure."

Even if it was his mission, setting it aside momentarily would allow him to spend time with Sailor Moon again… he shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose again. He was always drawn to her, and it seemed that the harder he tried to fight it, the more prevalent she became.

…

"Usagi, I need you to set your feelings for Tuxedo Kamen aside. He is after the crystal, which makes him our enemy, just as much as the Dark Kingdom!"

Usagi sighed at the mention of his name, hugging her arms around her knees.

"We can't afford to trust him, especially now that there are three of them working together! Usagi," Luna sighed. "Are you even listening?"

"Yes," she replied vaguely, staring out her window. How beautiful the moon looked tonight, the light cast across her bed. "I just… I can't believe he could be anything but good, Luna."

"I know, Usagi, but until we have obvious evidence indicating otherwise, we have to consider him at the very least to be untrustworthy. Besides, as I've told you, Artemis and I have no recollection of a Tuxedo Kamen being a part of the moon kingdom."

"Yes, but you have no recollection of me, either," she snapped, setting her compact on her bedside table to charge in the moonlight. "And you can't even remember what this stupid Princess you were apparently so devoted to looked like, so how reliable can you two be, exactly?"

With that Usagi turned on her side, pulling the covers over her head. She felt bad for snapping at Luna, but everything she had said was true. It frustrated her to no end, this mission she was supposed to accept blindly without question.

Well what about what her heart told her, hm?

She didn't sleep well, tossing and turning most of the night as fragmented dreams of fallen kingdoms and faceless princes tormented her. It felt like her alarm went off just seconds after she had finally been able to fall asleep, and it took Luna dragging her out of bed to get her up.

"Late, late, late, late, late!" She whined, dashing down the street, book bag swinging over her shoulder.

She gasped when the heel of her black shoe caught on the pavement, flying off her foot and hitting someone's head with a loud thunk.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so…" she turned around to find Chiba Mamoru's blue eyes glaring back at her. "…so not sorry," she huffed, crossing her arms.

The new guy Kaidou and another guy she vaguely recognized as Nephrite stood next to him, her cheeks flushing a little.

Of course cold, annoying Mamoru would attract ex-Dark Kingdom jerks. Classic.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met. I'm Usagi," she offered, holding out her hand.

The strapping college student winked at her, pressing his lips to her knuckles as her cheeks glowed bright red.

"Masato," he replied in a silky voice. This guy was suave…

Tuxedo Kamen, I have eyes only for Tuxedo Kamen.

Beside him Mamoru rolled his eyes, shoving his friend lightly.

"Really, Maso?"

"Why do all the new guys hang around you, anyway!" She turned to him accusingly, jabbing her finger into the center of his chest. "Can't they see what a mean jerk you are?"

Kaidou and Masato both laughed, Mamoru closing his eyes in clear frustration.

Why her? Why did he always have to run into her? And why was he still holding her damn shoe?

A smirk crossed his face as he looked down at her. Her head barely reached his shoulder which meant…

He held her shoe up above his head lazily, the look of realization in her big blue eyes only spurring him on.

"Don't you think you should be a little nicer to me, odango, considering I have your shoe?"

She stomped her foot, sticking her tongue out at him. When that didn't work, she used her only other civilian power – her ability to cry on demand.

She fell to her knees, crying loudly as all three guys stared at her with shocked looks.

"Hey, what's going on?" An onlooker said.

"Miss, is everything alright? Are these gentlemen bothering you?"

"Uh… don't cry, odango. Here… here's your shoe," Mamoru thrust the shoe into her lap, running a hand nervously through his hair. "Well… gotta go!"

Once they were gone she smirked, gingerly slipping her shoe back on her foot. That would show him…

The sound of a bell in the distance set her scrambling to her feet, any thoughts of victory forgotten.


	13. 12 - A Single Tear

Thank you for reading and reviewing! I don't own Sailor Moon, I'm just borrowing the characters. And too delirious on codeine cough syrup to say much else. Being sick not being sick.

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><p>"What are you daydreaming about anyway, Usagi? You've barely touched your milkshake…" Motoki placed his hand to her forehead, frowning lightly. "Nope, no fever…"<p>

She pushed his hand away, rolling her eyes. "Oh hush, Motoki, can't a girl dream in peace?"

"Who is he, Usagi?"

"Who's who?" Mamoru interrupted, sitting down next to her at the counter and reaching out to grab one of her hair buns.

"None of _your_ business," she snapped, sticking her tongue out as he put his hands up in defense. "Hi, Kaidou," she smiled, waving to the blonde who had just sat down on his other side.

"Oh come on," Motoki continued. "Is it someone we know?" He leaned forward to steal a sip from her milkshake while she was busy sticking her tongue out at Mamoru.

"Ha! You guys only wish you were that cool! And stop drinking that! I am a paying customer, I'll have you know," she replied in a snippy tone, glaring when he just laughed in response and stole one of the cherries.

"Paying customer since when?" He challenged, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Usagi, if you're a 'paying customer,'" Kaidou continued, using airquotes to emphasize his point, "Then you owe our good friend Motoki here close to… I'd say give or take three hundred dollars."

"Yeah, Odango, pay up," Mamoru grinned, holding out his hand. She smacked it, rolling her eyes in response.

"Yeah, like you're one to talk, Mamoru. I've been fronting you coffee for years!" Motoki turned back to Usagi, slapping the countertop impatiently. "Alright so who? Come on it's slow today… I'm so bored…" Motoki whined, gesturing around to the empty arcade.

"Fine," she gave in, cashing in on an opportunity to glare at Mamoru before continuing. "Tuxedo Kamen."

Mamoru suddenly choked on his coffee, Kaidou reaching over to whack him soundly on the back. Motoki laughed, slapping his hand down on the countertop.

They were all laughing at her!

"Hmph! How rude. And you three are honestly telling me you don't have crushes on senshi soldiers?" All three of them reddened slightly, her point proven. "Exactly. So stop laughing at me!"

"Okay, okay," Motoki grinned, putting his hands up in defeat. "But come on, who doesn't have a crush on Sailor V?"

Usagi held back a giggle by placing her hand over her lips. Oh, Minako would _die_ if she told her!

"Nope, it's definitely Sailor Mars. Those red high heels…" Kaidou replied, aimlessly swirling his spoon around in his coffee. Usagi could barely keep her mouth closed. He was dating Rei! Could he possibly know…

"What about you, Chiba?" Motoki asked as the raven-haired college student looked up with a bored expression.

"Sailor Moon," he shrugged, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

This time Usagi's jaw really did drop. Of all things he could have said that was not something she had expected, and it completely threw her for a loop.

"What are you looking so put out for, odango? Are you harboring a secret crush on me?" He teased her, patting one of her hair buns. Of course she had no idea he was Tuxedo Kamen, but that didn't mean he couldn't tease her about it.

She was still too shocked to come up with a proper comeback. They all stared at her expectantly before she snapped out of it, smacking away his hand.

"As if! You're… you… you're just a big jerk!" Why did she always have to run into him? It seemed like no matter what she did, their paths always crossed somehow. Why him, when he was such a jerk to her?

Her communicator beeped, reminding her of her senshi meeting at Minako's. She gathered up her stuff, waving to Motoki and Kaidou and purposely ignoring Mamoru as she left in a hurry.

"That was kind of abrupt, wasn't it?" Mamoru frowned, staring after her. He exchanged a look with Kaidou who looked equally perplexed.

Motoki just shrugged as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "She does that all the time. I've never really thought much of it. I suppose it could be considered a little strange, but it _is_ Usagi after all."

…

"So how many Sailor Senshi are there, anyway?" Minako asked, stretching out on the floor next to Usagi. Something had been bothering her friend throughout the meeting, and Mina couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. She just sensed her irritation.

"Four," Luna said slightly awkwardly. "That we remember, anyway."

"So then what's the problem? There's four of us," Usagi stated as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

Luna slid a turquoise compact with the blue sign of mercury across the floor towards her.

"Mercury?" Rei whispered, frowning. "But that would make us five…"

"It's me, right?" Usagi sighed. "I'm the one you can't account for?"

_"If you're not one of the Shitennou, where do you play into all of this?" _She remembered Minako's words to Tuxedo Kamen. And his words later, of their destiny's being tied together…

Where did _she_ play into all of this?

"Yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. There were always myths of outer senshi, soldiers who guarded the Princess from afar," Artemis replied matter-of-factly. Mina glared at him for his obvious lack of sensitivity.

"You were awakened for a reason, Usagi," Luna said gently. "Everything involving this mission happens for a reason, nothing is a mistake. Your mission is just as clear as the others, and you have been designated by forces out of our control to lead the senshi. That was no accident."

"Why won't this Princess reveal herself to us? If we knew who she was, we could better protect her," Rei said angrily.

"Because she most likely doesn't even know she's the princess. There's a seal placed on her, protecting her identity from the enemy, just as there was on you before you were all awakened. When we find her that will most likely be when we find the crystal."

Usagi sighed, pressing her hand to her head. This was all becoming so complicated… it was so much easier when it was just her and Minako taking down simple youma with Tuxedo Kamen's help, before all this Moon Princess silver crystal drama.

"A long time ago the Moon Kingdom was attacked, ruined at the hands of the Dark Kingdom. Everyone was sealed away and when we began to awaken, so did the enemy," Artemis continued.

"We can't let the past repeat itself!" Luna interjected firmly. "To prevent the tragedies of the past reoccurring we have to seal away this darkness once and for all!"

The words from her dream rang in her head. _We can't let the past repeat itself…_

"Usagi?" Mina said quietly, drawing her friend from her thoughts. Everyone else had left, the two of them the only ones remaining on Mina's bedroom floor.

"Hm?"

"You just seem so sad."

"I just… I feel so confused. I feel like I don't know what my place or purpose is. I mean, Luna tells me what my mission is but I feel so disconnected from it all. Like I'm just supposed to blindly follow what she says and hope for the best."

"No, " Mina said firmly, hugging Usagi's shoulders. "You are our leader, and you are my best friend, my other half. I couldn't fight without you at my side, Usagi."

Still unsure, Usagi decided to just stay at Mina's. Going home and letting herself dwell on these thoughts… well it wouldn't do her any good.

She unwound her buns, letting her long silver-blonde hair cascade to the floor around her. Minako picked up her hairbrush, running it gently through Usagi's cornsilk hair.

"I have a feeling, Usagi, that once we find this last soldier things will start unfolding… and eventually everything will make sense." She wound small pink bows through the top of Usagi's hair, tugging the strands gently into place.

"Thanks, Minako. Somehow you make it sound like it's all going to be okay…"

_The clearest, deepest blue. Soft eyes, tender hands on her face. They stood in silence, eyes locked on each other. The darkness crept in, slow and cold. He held her against his chest tight, as if this might be the last time…_

_"I won't live without you…" she breathed, tears sparkling across her thick lashes._

_"Don't you dare say that." He placed a finger to her lips as everything went dark._

_"This is your last chance! Join me and I'll spare your life. Rule by my side and the Dark Kingdom will be stronger than ever!"_

_"Never!" he spat, shielding her behind him. _

_The cruel voice laughed mercilessly. "Very well. Then you will die!"_

"Usagi! Usagi please wake up!" Mina's voice pleaded, shaking her shoulders frantically. "Usagi!"

She awoke with a start, tears streaming down her cheeks. She gasped for air, Minako's arms wrapping protectively around her shoulders.

"Usagi, your nose…" Mina gasped as Usagi pressed a hand to it, her fingertips stained red. Her forehead felt as if it were splitting in half, as if she was fighting hard to remember something that wouldn't resurface.

She pressed a handkerchief gingerly against her nose as it bled, tears still flowing freely. She had never felt more confused in her life.

"Mina, who am I? Why do I have these dreams? They're so strange and yet they feel so raw… so real. My heart aches."

Mina nodded, clutching her friend tightly. "I know, Usagi. I know. I can feel… sometimes I feel like our hearts are connected somehow. I feel your pain so strongly."

She lay her head on Minako's shoulder, her blonde friend stroking her hair as she tried to comfort her. Finally Usagi's breath evened, her eyes falling closed in a dreamless sleep. Minako clasped her hands together, staring at the full moon illuminated through her window. "Bring peaceful sleep," she whispered, gently laying Usagi back down on the pillow. She felt so fiercely protective of her, their bond like that of sisters.

Her light-hearted, carefree friend was slowly slipping away, a more serious, jaded Usagi taking her place. It scared her.

…

It was hard to slip back into her useful, cheerful persona with Luna's words constantly ringing through her head.

_"Four," Luna said slightly awkwardly. "That we remember, anyway."_

_"So then what's the problem? There's four of us," Usagi stated as if it were the most obvious thing ever. _

_Luna slid a compact with the blue sign of mercury across the floor towards her._

_"Mercury?" Rei whispered, frowning. "But that would make us five…"_

_"It's me, right?" Usagi sighed. "I'm the one you can't account for?"_

Everyone else had this strong sense of purpose and now hers was conflicted. Usagi sighed, folding her arms on the counter at the arcade and resting her chin on top. And it didn't help that she was always having these strange dreams…

"What happened to you?" She jumped as a voice interrupted her self-destructing train of thought, twirling around in her stool to face the intruder. She floundered as she stared right back into the deep blue eyes of none other than Chiba Mamoru, trying to come up with a quick retort.

"Happened? Nothing happened."

_Good one, Usagi._

Silence permeated between the two of them as he continued to stare at her, Usagi feeling more and more like a specimen under a microscope. Why wasn't he insulting her, teasing her, or squeezing her hair? Had the universe completely turned upside down or –

Without warning he grabbed her chin roughly, tilting her head back slightly as he eyed her suspiciously.

_If I didn't know any better I'd say he looks almost… concerned? But that's impossible._

"What happened, Odango?" He repeated firmly, leaning his other hand on the counter beside her. They were way too close, his fingers gripping her chin almost… tenderly(?) in his hand. And why was her heart racing so fast… what the hell was going on?

"I _told _you," she insisted numbly, still unable to wrap her head around what was occurring. "Nothing happened, I'm fine. Why are you being so weird?"

He stiffened, reluctantly letting go of her chin and leaving her skin cold where his fingers had been. Then, without warning, he brushed his thumb gently across her cheek, a teardrop hovering on the pad of his thumb.

"I'm talking about this," he replied quietly as her shoulders tensed. She just stared at him in shock, searching desperately for words that wouldn't form. How strange this day was turning out to be.

"It's nothing," she whispered, forcing herself to pull away from him. A pain she didn't understand flashed across his eyes as he nodded, taking a step back.

"Okay." He straightened up, running a hand through his jet black hair. "I'll see you around, Odango."

With a slight wave to Motoki he turned and left, leaving a dull pain in Usagi's chest that she didn't really understand.


End file.
